Edwin Provencal, the Managing Director of Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST), has stated that the current management of Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST), serviced the entire debt of the company.
According to the managing director of BOST, the steps taken by the company’s current management to clear all the monies it owed due to years of mismanagement have ushered a new lease of life to the once struggling state-owned enterprise.
“When the new management of BOST came in 2017, they met a trading liability of US$624 million for products bought that had not been paid for. They also met a legacy debt of GHC416 million hanging around the organization’s neck as well as some US$ 37 million claims by some Bulk Oil Distributing Companies (BDCs).
“I am proud to say that as of today, we have paid off almost 98% of the US$624 million of our trade liability debt. Out of that 98% of the money paid, 70% was paid through BOST’s internally generated fund, and the government helped us with the other 30% through the ESLA bonds. So, we have paid off that money and it’s left with 2-3% of that money to pay.”
Edwin Provencal
Provencal heaped praises on Nana Addo, the President of Ghana, noting that BOST was able to clear its debts thanks to the prudent management and aggressive efforts of the President to fix, restore and repair all the company’s non-performing equipment to 100% operating capacity.
“For the GHC416 million legacy debt, we have paid 100%. And for the US$37 million BDC claim, after a forensic audit, the claimants said we owed them only US$11 million, saving this company and this country US$26 million that was in our books as a liability to these companies. We also didn’t have a good brand image out there because of our past. So, we have to ensure that we rebranded ourselves, and build a great corporate culture based on performance. Nothing else.”
Edwin Provencal
BOST can now boast of profits after-tax and operational costs after five years of religiously implementing the MD’s five-year transformational plan. After 11 years of recording losses, Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited made a remarkable turnaround, recording GHC168.8 million profit after tax last year.
BOST Ready to Explore AfCFTA After Remarkable Turnaround
Meanwhile, Edwin Provencal, now sets his sight on the external market, stating that the company is ready to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), after revamping its revenue generating infrastructure.
Chronicling the strategic investments and measures instituted in restoring the company to a profit-making venture, Provencal said the company was loaded with debt because of years of managerial inefficiencies. He noted that BOST had only 18% of its revenue generating assets operational at the time of handing over.
Provencal said the pipelines linking Tema to Akosombo, Buipe to Bolga were completely out of service as well as the company’s marine infrastructure including tug and floating boats.
“50% of our depots, that’s three out of six were not working. So, in a nutshell we had only 18% of our revenue assets working. All of our assets were grounded and yet we have to find the money to pay our debts.”
Edwin Provencal
Appalled by the gravity and the precariousness of BOST due to decades of mismanagement, Provencal sets to work, starting with a thorough assessment of the company’s books and infrastructural health. And after cautiously, whipping up enthusiasm and excitement and the need to turn BOST around among his staff, Provencal would settle on two key strategies, generated through the implementation of what he called balance scorecard framework.
Mr Provencal noted that he devoted almost 150-200 hours at this framework to upscale the team, to coach and mentor them and then worked together and came up with the ‘BOST strategy’ for the next five years which the board signed up to.
The strategy was focused on two key areas– enhancing operational excellence by reviving all dead assets to life, complete all old projects and have them running at full capacity before commencing new ones. And once they are able to do that, the next key area was to aggressively grow the business.
“BOST would after five or so years of religiously implementing these strategies raise enough revenue to service its debts and prepare to take advantage of the trade area to give Ghanaians value,” Mr Provencal stated.
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