They, therefore, called on the public to disregard calls by the Minority in Parliament and some members of the public for the dismissal of Mr Alfred Obeng Boateng for his alleged role in the offer for sale of a contaminated petroleum product.

Expressing confidence in the managing director at a joint press conference in Tema yesterday, the workers said: “The calls for his interdiction are attempts being made to frustrate the ongoing probes into issues of financial malfeasance that have been uncovered in the company.”

The joint press conference was organised by the staff who are members of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) and the General Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union (GPCWU) at BOST’s Accra Plains Depot (APD) in Tema yesterday.

They also called for the dissolution of the eight-member inter-ministerial committee set up to investigate the issues surrounding the accidental contamination of the petroleum product at the company’s APD.

They also called on the government to exclude officials of the bulk distribution companies (BDCs) in the event that the investigations were to be conducted.

The contamination is said to have occurred on January 18, 2017 when some large quantities of petrol were being pumped into a storage tank in which quantities of diesel had been stored.

The workers suggested that the disposition of the BDCs in relation to the matter showed they had already passed their own judgement and would, therefore, not serve any useful purpose on the committee.

Addressing the press, the Secretary of the Junior Staff Union of BOST, Mr Godfred Newton Amoh, said: “We, as workers, reaffirm our unflinching support for the managing director and wish to reiterate the need for his continued stay in office.

“The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Chamber of BDCs has made several media comments suggesting wrongdoing on the part of the Managing Director of BOST and we believe his outfit will not be fair in its judgement on the committee.”

The BDCs and the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs), he maintained, had persistently attempted to force BOST out of business in their quest to assume control over the petroleum trading market.

“It will be a dangerous move to allow the BDCs to assume trading and distribution of petroleum products, since they could form a cartel that could sabotage government at critical times,” Mr Amoh said.

Off-spec products

He said the sale of off-spec products was not a new thing to BOST, as the company had engaged in similar trading activities from 2014 to the latter part of 2016.

“Of the contaminated product that has brought about the controversy, we wish to state that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), being the major stakeholder, was consulted in the processes leading to the offer for sale of the product,” he claimed.

He also denied suggestions that ZUPOIL, which bought the product from the offtaker, Movenpinaa, was not a licensed company.

“Who says a company which has satisfied the company’s registration processes and was duly registered by the Registrar General’s Department cannot engage in petroleum business?” Mr Amoh asked.

The Secretary of the Professional and Managerial Staff Union at BOST, Mr Ekow Sey, for his part, said the workers had absolute confidence in the MD’s ability to successfully manage the company.

Reaction

When contacted by the Daily Graphic, the CEO of the Chamber of BDCs, Mr Senyo Hosi, in a response, described the call by the workers as unfortunate, since the BDCs did not call for the dismissal of the MD of BOST,

The chamber, he said, was made up of 44 companies that played a unique role in the sector.

“Are they suggesting that the NPA should also be excluded from the eight-member committee because the CEO also made media comments on the issue?” he asked.