Awuah-Darko holds two MD positions at BOST, TOR

A conduct that is said to be a clear violation of law, Kingsley Kwame Awuah-Darko, is holding himself as the Managing Director of Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST) even though he has been appointed as the Managing Director of cash-strapped Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).

President John Dramani Mahama recently asked the globe-trotting Awuah-Darko to take over the responsibilities at TOR after the state-owned refinery’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Alphone Kwao Dorcoo, a petrochemical engineer, was relieved of his post.

The president in a statement signed by Chief of Staff Julius Debrah on June 29, 2015 said Mr. Awuah-Darko “has been asked to take over responsibility for the management of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).”

However, the statement fell short of indicating whether Awuah-Darko, a close friend of the first family, was to pack bag and baggage and leave BOST; a strategic national asset he is alleged to have run down with controversial contractual agreements, profligate expenditure on office accommodation among a tall list of accusations.

Legal experts have slammed the situation; saying it is unconstitutional for one person to be Managing Director for two state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Corporate governance gurus have condemned the worrying situation, saying it has the potential of slowing down serious corporate decisions and breeding corruption in the system.

“These are two independent corporate institutions of state with separate functions and we have not been told of any merger of the two companies, so how can one person be Managing Director of both,” a corporate governance expert quizzed.

Government announced changes in the hierarchy of some public institutions and agencies and according to the Chief of Staff; the changes were part of President Mahama’s ongoing restructuring of the leadership of government agencies.

It is not clear if Mr. Awuah-Darko’s apparent double appointment will achieve the desired restructuring agenda.

According to sources within BOST, embattled Awuah-Darko junketed out of the country than he worked at the state-owned corporation and with the dark clouds hanging around his new appointment, he still parades himself and operates as the MD for BOST even though he was assigned as TOR boss.

The paper has gathered that he is now taking major decisions at both BOST and TOR.

According to industry analysts, should this huge anomaly perpetuate, Mr. Awuah-Darko will now be reporting to two separate Boards of Directors at the same time.

Some workers of BOST had appealed to President Mahama to urgently set up an independent inquiry to investigate Mr. Awuah-Darko and his management of the strategic national asset.

They had pleaded with the president to make their MD step aside so that a meticulous audit will be conducted into his activities at BOST. The angry workers had alleged that a lot of decisions and actions taken by Mr. Awuah-Darko were costing the company financially.

According to them, there had been various instances of alleged mismanagement and corruption.

However, the allegations have not been investigated and Mr. Awuah-Darko is asked to take full responsibility for the management of TOR.

Among the allegations leveled against him were controversial agreements he signed between BOST and TSL, a Ghanaian subsidiary of Nigerian-owned company, which workers of BOST and the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs) opposed because they indicated the deal was shrouded in secrecy and lacked the local content policy of Ghana.

TSL has been contracted in a 12-month pilot deal to operate, maintain and manage BOST’s petroleum terminals in the country.

According to the agreement, the parties in the deal have the option of a five-year extension.

Workers of the company pointed out that under the deal, BOST paid TSL a total of $56,170.21 every month for 12 months as management fees with an additional payment of $594,000 every month for 12 months each year to cater for reimbursable.

Another deal was the expenditure of over $1 million for a new office accommodation, a one-floor building, which costs $43,400 a month at Dzowulu in Accra for two years, compared to BOST’s previous spacious office at the airport residential area, which costs only $13,000 a month.