BOST denies buying 18 iPhones for GH¢28m

The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) has addressed recent reports alleging that the firm bought 18 iPhone 13 Pro Max phones for its corporate executives amounting to GH¢28 million.

BOST in a statement acknowledged the acquisition of the phones for its corporate executives in May 2022 but debunked the GH¢28 million figure making rounds on social media.

The Corporate Communications and External Affairs Department of the Company said the total cost of the phones was GH¢234,000.00, grossed up for taxes at GH¢285,412.16 and not the erroneous GH¢28 million figure being quoted.

“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).”

BOST clarified that the total amount spent on the phones is “captured in the financial reports of the company and the Auditor General who audits the company, at least over the past three years, vetted the decision and the value and made no adverse findings about same” and added that the GH¢28 million “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 GH¢285,412.61 to GH¢28,541,261.00.

“The reason for the purchase of the devices 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 results 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,” BOST added in its statement.