Former Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Joseph Dindiok Kpemka, has been appointed as the Deputy Managing Director of Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Limited Company (BOST) seven months before the end of the Akufo-Addo administration.
The one-term Member of Parliament (MP) for Tempane in the Upper East Region, had been without any political appointment since his defeat at the 2020 polls, but has been on various media platforms relentlessly extolling the virtues of the Akufo-Addo presidency.
Kpemka’s appointment at BOST comes amidst concerns about procurement irregularities at the company, as highlighted in various audit reports. Some of these irregularities have prompted investigations by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), albeit with perceived deficiencies in their handling.
Speculations abound that Kpemka’s presence at BOST, may be linked to efforts to mitigate these concerns.
Interestingly, EOCO, the agency tasked with investigating BOST’s management, has been observed receiving financial and material support from the same entity it is probing.
A letter signed by the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, instructed the Minister of Energy Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh to take the “necessary steps to regularise the said appointment in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 929) and the constitution of the company.”
Kpemka, served as a one-time Member of Parliament for Tempane in the Upper East region after winning the 2016 parliamentary election with 13,363 votes against the National Democratic Congress (NDC) David Adakudugu.
Disposal of deliberately contaminated fuels at ridiculously low prices has been among the many malpractices recorded under the Akufo-Addo government at BOST.
The then Managing Director of Alfred Obeng-Boateng, currently the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai constituency in the Western North Region, has often featured in political discourse as one of the persons to be investigated and prosecuted if the NDC wins power.
The new office of BOST at the Okponglo, had also come under scrutiny as part of the many procurement infractions recorded by the present government.
The contract was awarded under the Mahama administration, but was renegotiated by the present government with claims that the country was short-changed in the procurement process.
InOctober year, The Herald picked up additional information on some tea machines supplied to BOST for GH¢2.3 million.
It was established that the firm, Rageita Company Limited, was recommended by Nestle Ghana to the management of BOST after the multinational beverage company was approached to mount tea-making machines for BOST workers across the country.
Workers denied getting the beverages yet money was regularly going to Rageita Company Limited.
The machines were installed and Nestle supplied about seven types of beverages to BOST workers to fetch and drink anytime they felt thirsty.
The bill is subsequently sent to BOST every quarter for payment and will run for two years for GH¢2.3 million. The Nestle products are going to six regions, where BOST has facilities.
The CEO, Edwin Provencal, was said to have insisted on the procurement of the machines at several management meetings.
Several managers had kicked against the decision, but he remained adamant to the point of angrily yelling at those who opposed the decision.
The tea machines were procured through single-sourcing, sparking controversy.
Within that people also, it the management BOST, insulted Ghanaians, questioning the propriety of buying eighteen (18) luxurious phones for what it described as “critical officers of the company”.
The phones had gone to General Managers and the eight Board members of the company.
A statement from the state-owned company claimed that, “the result so far attest to the efficiency of the systems put in place, which includes the access points for key members of the team to access processed information for efficient decision making”.
But even before the insult over the procurement of the phone settles, it has been revealed that BOST has purchased some tea machines at a cost of GH¢2.3 million.
BOST, had denied earlier reports that quoted the Auditor General that Twenty Eight Million, Five Hundred and Forty-One Thousand, Two Hundred Sixty One Ghana Cedis was spent on the iPhones 13 Pro Max “the total cost of the phones stood at Two Hundred and Thirty-Four Thousand Ghana Cedis (234,000.00) grossed up for taxes at Two Hundred and Eighty-Five Thousand, Four Hundred and Twelve Ghana Cedis, Sixteen Pesewas (GHS285, 412.16).
The statement was issued in the name of the Corporate Communications and External Affairs Department.
It said “the reason for the purchase of the device was to equip the team to stay in touch with the management information and business intelligence systems of the company for efficient decision-making”.
In the petroleum storage and transportation space, a split second can make the difference between success and failure. The result so far, attest to the efficiency of the systems put in place which includes the access points for key members of the team to access processed information for efficient decision making.
The statement issued on Saturday, September 30, 2023, said the error occurred due to the placing of the decimal point two steps to the right of the actual figure.
It indicated that the amount was captured in the financial report of the company. It added that the report has been audited by the Auditor General and the decision has been vetted without any adverse findings made about the same.
BOST, however, observed that there was an error with the placement of the dot in the amount as typed in the report.
“The Twenty-Eight Million, Five Hundred and Forty-One Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty-One Ghana Cedis (GHS28, 541,261.00) in the report may be due to a typographical error of placing the dot (.) two steps to the right which on the face of the document converted the GHS285,412.61 to GHS28,541,261.00.
“The public is hereby entreated to ignore the claim that the company bought eighteen (18) phones at 28 million.
“It is both erroneous and mischievous.”
It justified the purchase of the phones, saying it is “to equip the team to stay in touch with the management information and business intelligence systems of the company for efficient decision making”.
The company urged its stakeholders to reach out to the Corporate Communications Department for any clarification before proceeding to make such statements which in the end could amount to misleading the public.
“The public is hereby entreated to ignore the claim that the company bought eighteen (18) phones at 28 million. It is both erroneous and mischievous”.
The contract tender number captured for the juicy tea machine contract was GR/BOST GD/0007/2022 and was executed on July 22, 2022, with the machine delivered on the same date.
