The CEO of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD) says its members are not opposed to the government\u2019s Gold for Oil policy but rather take issue with its skewed implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Patrick Ofori , Express on Tuesday that they were in favour of the policy so it would be easy to identify potential challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis was to ensure that although this is a temporary fix, we find a way of formalising and structuring it with every stakeholder being relevant and knowing that their perspectives have been considered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he stated the Bulk Oil Distributing Companies (BDCs) point of departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn technical terms, we are not against it, but we are against the way the implementation has been skewed in favour of public entities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat we are saying is that the central bank has done remarkably well when it came onboard with the forex option, but we are advocating that since they already have an existing relationship with us and our banks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat we require is that even if you don\u2019t trust and regulate us, at least you regulate the financial institution, let\u2019s cede our cedi to the financial institution so they will pass it onwards to the BoG and as they manage with the auction, they also use that to procure the gold and the resultant forex will be accumulated to us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Ofori said the BDCs’ bone of contention has been that although they understand the strategic role BOST plays, \u201cnone of us set up our business with BOST as a middleman. We all set up our businesses because we built a track record of having a wonderful relationship with these international players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n