Features
Kudos BOST!
• Aerial view of Bulk OilStorage and Transportation
Company Limited facility
If Ghana is to quickly recover from the current economic problems and be able to make things better for all Ghanaians and other residents in the country, then each and everyone will have to play his/her role in support of the country’s national agenda for socioeconomic development.
If certain individuals and groups play their part well while others also keep destroying things, the result will be unpalatable in the sense that not much can be achieved to improve upon the welfare of Ghanaians. It is important to note that the agenda for national development will not be an easy task but if every person agrees to work hard and contribute his/her quota towards national progress, things will be far better for everyone in the country.
SOEs
It is unfortunate that some State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are not performing well due to greed and corrupt practices. Some of these state enterprises are not making use of good governance but rather victimising some of their members of staff and ensuring that conditions are highly unfavourable for some of these people to have their peace and put in their best to ensure satisfactory productivity.
Many of such enterprises led by their management have linkages with corrupt officials in their procurement department, finance office, general administration and many other places to engage in what has become known as “create and share” among themselves. The overall result of this is poor performance and inability to generate more revenue to support central government revenue. What happens very often is that these corrupt officials team up to do little to improve the financial position of their own state enterprises, sometimes rendering it worse than what they came to find.
DISTRESSED ORGANISATIONS
There are a number of cases in this country where at the initial stages, the management at the time found it very difficult to make meaningful strides as a result of limited resources and other problems that they were facing. The genuine problems faced by these organisations did not help matters in the sense that the management of these organisations, tried as they did, could not make any headway even though they did their best and were committed towards progress and development. In spite of this, they were able to find other leaders appointed later to take over the management of their distressed entities.
The challenge was accepted by management in some of these organisations to overcome the hurdles and make things better. As a result of this, the distressed organisations concerned were able to recover from their problems and difficulties to make things far better than the situation they came to meet.
PROSPERITY
It is not easy to move from nowhere in terms of limited resources and push forward to a place where prosperity is made to become the order of the day. When things happen in this way, it brings remarkable improvement to all members of staff, helping them to be knitted together as one family striving for good life of prosperity.
Prosperous life does not come about easily, especially within organisations. Rather they are able to come about as a result of discipline, selflessness, dedication and alacrity, among others. Also, the rules of the organisation, the welfare packages and all others will have to be applied in a manner that will favour anyone who works for the organisation.
TRANSPARENCY
In organisations where things are made transparent, everyone feels good and work hard towards the general good of the entities. This is what all organisations, together with their staff and management ought to do if they are to achieve the ultimate. This is attainable so all public enterprises will have to put in their best for the attainment of this positive agenda.
State-owned enterprises or organisations in public sectors should never consider their activities unimportant or begin to do business as usual, that is not caring to bring in innovative ways that will bring about great increase in productivity compared with what they did in the past and disillusionment.
BOST POSITIVE TURNAROUND
It is in light of this that the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) ought to be highly commended for being able to make a positive turnaround and bringing about great improvement to the economy. This is what all state-owned enterprises or public organisations ought to do to ensure that the assets of such public entities are being held in a responsible way for the country. When things happen like this, it helps the whole economy to go forward.
All sectors of the economy must grow but this should not come from the private sector alone. The public sector must also do all it can to bring in such improvement.
DISCIPLINE
For the public sector to grow well, there must be discipline on the part of the governing board, management and also members of staff. All leaders must, therefore, provide good examples for the attainment of the best results.
We will continue to be proud of BOST for what they have been able to do.
IMPRESSIVE REVENUE
The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) has recorded a revenue of GH¢1.12 billion in 2021, almost twofold the GH¢632 million recorded in 2020.
Out of that amount, GH¢671.6 million came from product sales, GH¢380.4 million from the BOST margin, GH¢52.64 million from storage and rack, GH¢14.83 million from marine transportation, with GH¢2.07 million coming from products swap. The Managing Director of BOST, Edwin Provencal, who disclosed this at a press conference in Accra, attributed the company’s recent successes to some new policies introduced.
HONESTY & COMMITMENT
The trick about Mr. Provencal and his management is that they were disciplined and honest apart from their commitment to the work they are doing. If BOST has been able to do it, then all other public agencies can do same.
All sectors of the economy ought to be able to grow under the various leaderships there, as has been done by BOST, so that tremendous success can be attained for the country. When all sectors grow well, we will all end up contributing various sources of income to the national kitty and the result will be nothing but national growth for the entire country.
Email address/whatsApp number of author:
Pradmat201@gmail.com (0553318911)
By Dr. Kofi Amponsah-Bediako
Conflict at work is more common than you might think. According to 2022 research by The Myers-Briggs Company, more than a third of the workforce reports dealing with conflict often, very often, or all the time in the workplace. The same report found that managers spend an average of four hours per week dealing with conflict, and nearly 25 per cent of people think their managers handle conflict poorly or very poorly.
Addressing a dispute might feel tense or awkward, but resolving the conflict is typically well worth it in the long run. Whether you’re trying to mediate conflict between colleagues or are directly involved, here are seven steps you can take to manage workplace conflict.
1. Don’t put it off
Facing conflict head-on is hard. However, waiting too long to address it can negatively impact your emotional well-being, focus, and the entire office environment. If you’re feeling angry, letting that emotion fester can also escalate it over time. This can make you less responsive to other points of view and make it harder to resolve the issue.
The sooner you can address the conflict, the better it will be for you, the person you disagree with, and your entire team.
2. Learn all you can about the problem
It’s important to determine the type of conflict you’re dealing with. Begin by considering the cause of the conflict. For example, ask yourself whether someone said something that upset you or if you have emotions of anger and resentment that stemmed from something that happened.
Then try to identify if it’s a task, relationship, value, or team conflict. Once you know what type of conflict it is, you can work to resolve it with specific tactics for that situation.
If you skip this step, you may waste time or escalate the situation further by trying to address issues irrelevant to the real conflict.
3. Actively listen
Listen attentively when people share their side of the story. Active listening is one of the most valuable professional skills you can possess. This type of listening involves not only hearing what the other person is saying but also listening to understand their point of view.
No matter your role in conflict, it’s easy to begin sharing your opinion with little regard for the other people involved. However, it’s important to learn about all sides of a disagreement to make well-informed decisions before drawing conclusions.
To reach a resolution, you must step back and prioritize listening over talking. Ultimately, that will encourage the other person to do the same when it’s your turn to speak. –source: betterup.com
Today, I focus on the Temple Of Praise Ministries International (TOP Church) in Helsinki, as I continue my description of personalities or institutions and their accomplishments as members of the Ghanaian Diaspora in Finland.
The TOP Church in Finland has seen significant strides and accomplishments that must be made known to the public. 
Some history
The Church was established in Finland in September 2016. Since its inception, it has steadily grown both spiritually and numerically, by the grace of God, as disclosed to me by Mr Matthew Anini Twumasi, the Presiding Elder of TOP’s branch in Finland. The TOP Church has other branches across Africa, Europe, and America.
The Church in Finland was founded with a vision to create a welcoming and dynamic community where people could experience God’s love and grace (see, www.topchurchfinland.org). According to Presiding Elder Matthew, the TOP Church operates within a unique environment where Christianity coexists with what is seen as a largely secular society.
Despite this, he submits, there are significant opportunities for outreach, unity, and demonstrating the love of Christ through service and community engagement.
Activities
Church services at the TOP Church are typically held on Sundays for the main worship. In addition, there are mid-week prayer sessions, Saturday prayer services, and a half-night service held on the last Friday of every month. “We also organise quarterly programs”, Elder Matthew added.
His impression of the Church so far has been positive. “It is a vibrant and welcoming community where members are committed to worship, fellowship, and supporting one another in faith”, he stated.
In sum, Elder Matthew said the Church continues to grow by God’s grace. “We remain hopeful and committed to spreading the Gospel, strengthening the faith of our members, and making a positive impact in society”, he continued.
Achievements
The TOP Church has a number of achievements and achievements. Some of the strengths include strong community bonds, cultural diversity, and deep commitment to spiritual growth.
I also remember that during the COVID-19 period, I heard that the TOP Church was one such bodies that hugely supported its members and others to cope with the situation.
According to Elder Matthew, the challenges facing the church include “adapting to cultural differences, engaging the younger generation, expanding outreach in a secular society, and securing a permanent place of worship”.
Role in the Ghanaian community in Finland
The TOP Church plays a prominent role as a religious group that serves Ghanaian migrants and others in the Finnish society.
Thus, the TOP Church is a religious body for Ghanaian migrants in Finland and other nationalities who want to worship with them for diversity and better intercultural and multicultural understanding.
The Church also has mechanisms in place to support its members who are bereaved as a way to commiserate with them in times of death and funerals.
The Ghanaian community has played a vital role in the growth of the Church. Their strong sense of fellowship, dedication to worship, and active participation have helped build a solid foundation and attract others to the ministry, according to Elder Matthew.
Integration
By its activities, the TOP Church is helping to ensure integration of its members well into the Finish society.
This is important since social interaction and citizens’ well-being are an important part of the integration process.
The role of migrant associations and groups such as TOP Church acting as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice is highly appreciated in Finland. Thank you!
GHANA MATTERS column appears fortnightly. Written in simple, layman’s terms, it concentrates on matters about Ghana and beyond. It focuses on everyday life issues relating to the social, cultural, economic, religious, political, health, sports, youth, gender, etc. It strives to remind us all that Ghana comes first. The column also takes a candid look at the meanings and repercussions of our actions, especially those things we take for granted or even ignore. There are key Ghanaian values we should uphold rather than disregard with impunity. We should not overlook the obvious. We need to search for the hidden or deeply embedded values and try to project them.
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
