The Bulk Oil Distribution Companies (BDCs) have commended the management of Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) company limited for setting-up a Call Centre to enable stakeholders have a quick response to issues regarding their stock balance.

The BOST Call Centre will serve as a vital information network to ease doing petroleum transportation business as well as serve as an interface between BOST and other stakeholders in the petroleum sector.

Mr. Senyo Hosi, Chief Executive Officer of BDCs, commended BOST for the innovative means to address stakeholders concern especially through the Call Center platform.

He advised that BOST train those who would man the centres to ensure that “when we call at any time someone will respond and address our concern”.

Mr. Hosi said this at the quarterly “BOST MD’s Stakeholder Engagement Platform,” organized in Accra. The BOST MD Stakeholder Platform was created to cement relationship with players in the industry, address misconceptions and outline measures under the new management.

Mr George Mensah Okley BOST Managing Director, setting the tone for the discussion, classified BDCs as BOST’s main clients, therefore “we must reduce the incidence of unwarranted industrial tension.

“Before I took office, there was a whole lot of tension between BOST and the BDCs. Any issue that come out from BDCs into the media is about BOST and I intentionally created this platform where we can come meet face-to-face to talk”.

He said the BOST MD’s Stakeholder Engagement platform which forms part of the new brand image under our strategic plan seeks to build confidence and clear any tension which existed between stakeholders.

“We must all feel free to engage directly instead of depending on third party information and speculations on social media; now if BOST wants to implement something that may appear not to be in the interest of a section of our stakeholders we believe through the periodic interaction they will understand the broader national interest.

“We are all stakeholders working for the interest of mother Ghana, so let us be guided by national interest and not individual or sectional interest”.

Mr. Okley also used the occasion to explain BOST’s One System Rule which seeks to create interconnectivity among the BOST Depots at Tema, Akosombo, Maame Water, Kumasi, Bolga and Buipe.

The system, he said, would reduce the physical movement and deposit of products before one can transact business; “the BOST One System Rule is like the banking system, if you deposit products at one point, you can withdraw at the other end provided you submit the necessary documentation”.

He said BOST is working with all stakeholders for the smooth take-off and implementation of the system; “We are still engaging stakeholders to understand the system, we have all agreed to educate our constituents before the eventual take-off”.

Mr Okley also revealed that BOST is discussing with the software developer to address issues raised, and other operational hiccups identified for smooth implementation.

“We have not started running the one system rule but all the stakeholders have agreed in principle to go by the new system and in our deliberations, we have realized this challenge and so we are going to meet with the software company and the National Petroleum Authority,” he said.

Scores of the stakeholders at the third BOST MDs Stakeholder Engagement Platform commended the Board and management of BOST for the initiative and called on other government companies to create stakeholder’s engagement platforms.

The stakeholders discussed overstay products, fees, how they can collaborate as an industry, challenges that they are having with the porter, socialization and one system rule, upgrading and lost claim that the BDCs brought to BOST.