The Institute for Energy Security (IES), says managers of the country’s petroleum sector could have a stronger case to increase the BOST margin on petroleum products only if BOST accounts for its use of the revenue.The Executive Secretary of the COPEC, Duncan Amoah, insisted that allowing the increment to sail through will be a disincentive to consumers who have had to bear the brunt of at least one percent rise in petroleum prices for the first pricing window in December 2019.
The Executive Director for the IES, Paa Kwesi Anamuah Sakyi in an interview with Citi Business News welcomed the withdrawal.
“It is a smart decision the government has taken to withdraw the margin and we support that,” he said.
IES demands accountability from BOST
Paa Kwesi Anamuah Sakyi intimated to Citi Business News that any further increase would have to be justified by the work of BOST in the use of previous proceeds.
“If we can be assured; and if there is an evidence of prudent management of the use of these resources then anybody would have supported an upward adjustment of the BOST margin. But as it stands now, you cannot see that and you cannot be assured of any better return out of this BOST margin,” he argued.
He added that, “So BOST should be able to tell Ghanaians what they have done with what they have at the moment, then we can be sure of what we can do next. For the past three years, BOST has been unable to fully activate their infrastructure, so why build a new one when the one that has been built already is being underutilized?” he quizzed.
