Shocking revelations have come about the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC). The state-run corporation is mired in widespread irregularities. According to reports yesterday, no external audit of its accounts was conducted during the last one decade. Moreover, the audit objections raised by the Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh in the fiscal 2012-13 have not yet been disposed of. Even the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Undertakings expressed shock at the irregularities of the BPC.
The absence of transparency and accountability in BPC proves why fuel oil has become very costlier in Bangladesh, why the government had to raise the fuel price by more than 50 per cent which is the highest ever, not only in Bangladesh but all over the world.
The BPC continued to ignore the objections of CAG. According to yesterday’s reports, the CAG found irregularities of Tk 9,295.4 crore in two years before the fiscal 2012-13, but CAG found the answers from the BPC on the irregularities unacceptable. The BPC also did not provide what the public accounts committee of parliament asked it to provide to support its claims.
The BPC did not take any serious step to increase its storage capacity of fuel oil, and between 2010 and 2012, this state-run enterprise had to pay $ 6 million as demurrage for using ships of foreign companies as “floating storages” which was not accepted by the CAG. Why should it keep eight to ten ships anchored when it had the capacity of unloading six fuel carrying ships? The BPC also failed to increase the country’s storage capacity for at least 60 days as has been set in the National Energy Policy, 1996. Currently, it has the capacity for only 30-35 days.
The word ‘massive’ seems to be inadequate to describe the irregularities that are going on inside the BPC for the last one decade. The fact that the BPC conducted only the internal audit over the decade ignoring the need of external auditing by CAG speaks volume about what is going on inside this public entity where, it has been alleged, the huge profit made by selling oil to public at higher prices were plundered by its corrupt officials.
Now when the BPC needed to give subsidies to fuel oil by its profit accrued in the past, it mindlessly hiked the fuel price that has made the life miserable for all people but the corrupt ones in the government. When the present illegitimate government does not have any accountability to people for its actions, it is futile to expect that the BPC would act responsibly and protect the interests of people.
