Gold for Oil policy has led to major reduction in fuel prices – Energy Minister

The Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has the Gold for Oil policy has led to a significant reduction in fuel prices.

He said from an average of GH₵23 per liter last year, the price of fuel has reduced to an average of GH₵13 currently. Speaking at the 2nd Annual General Meeting of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Limited Company (BOST) in Accra on Thursday, Dr. Opoku Prempeh commended the state-owned company for playing a central role in the success story of the Gold for Oil policy.

“BOST has been at the centre of the Gold for Oil policy, which seeks to provide fuel to Ghanaians at competitive prices by reducing our dependence on foreign exchange for imports of petroleum products,” he said.

He questioned what would have happened if there was no BOST. That is why he does not side with arguments in certain circles for the privitisation of BOST.

BOST Margin
Dr. Opoku Prempeh also reiterated that the government will not scrap the BOST Margin of nine pesewas on every litre of petroleum products. The BOST Margin was introduced in 2011 on the price build-up to cover the maintenance and expansion of fuel infrastructure.

Some civil society groups and individuals, have demanded that it be scrapped because it is no longer relevant.
But, the Energy Minister said the arguments were misplaced. “We’re not going to reduce the BOST margin because it helps the company to play a role in helping government deliver on its mandate.”

Success story
He commended BOST for posting a net profit of GH₵342 million in 2022, which is an increase of 112% over the 2021 profit of GH₵161 million.

Dr. Opoku Prempeh said BOST’s success story must be a model for other state owned enterprises. “The progress made by BOST exemplifies the path we should continue to follow, and we encourage you to increase the momentum to sustain this performance and strive for even greater heights”, said Dr Prempeh.

Turnaround
The Board Chairman of BOST, Ekow Hackman said the company has made a 360-degree turn in its fortunes.
“The transformation that BOST has undergone over the past three years is truly remarkable”, he noted, adding, “The company has been turned from a heavily-indebted one to a highly profitable one”.