By Amin Kef Sesay
Many that have been religiously following this medium will vividly recall that towards the end of 2021 there was a serious misunderstanding between the Management of the National Petroleum –Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL) and representatives of a new petroleum business entity known as All Petroleum Products (APP) over the manner in which the new player or investor wanted to fix its pipes, down at the Kissy Terminal, which in its entirety did not go down well with the Management of the oldest petroleum marketing company in the country, NP-SL Ltd, which therefore protested bitterly.
For most, such a move by APP was an act of overstepping its boundary and betrayal more especially when cognizance is taken of the fact that initially when the new company or entrant wanted to commence work at the terminal they approached the Management of NP-SL Ltd to guide them how to commence their work, which borders primarily on building a larger storage facility at the Kissy Terminal for storing petroleum products. Management of NP-SL was indeed magnanimous enough to grant them clearance or the go ahead to commence their work provided such will not affect any aspect of NP’s facility down there.
Surprisingly, when APP started their work it was annoyingly noticed by NP-SL that instead of burying their pipes they were laying them externally which, by all estimation, is highly risky and dangerous considering the fact that petroleum products are largely inflammable vis-à-vis the fact that the area has grown in population with the building of new settlements. APP was connecting its pipes on the area where NP-SL Ltd had the intension of developing a car park.
The situation degenerated into a serious impasse which warranted the intervention of the Vice President, Dr. Juldeh Jalloh and other relevant stakeholders including the Consortium of Civil Society Organizations on Petroleum and Industrial Relations. Dr. Juldeh Jalloh led a team, comprising the Executive Chairman of the Petroleum Regulatory Agency (PRA), Dr Brima Baluwa Koroma, the Minister of Trade and other authorities, to look at the situation on the ground, conduct independent assessments of the facilities down at the Kissy Terminal and promised to release its findings and recommendations in a report which is yet to be seen.
Few months down the line, the Vice President’s promise remains unfilled which has therefore warranted the members of the Consortium of Civil Society Organizations on Petroleum and Industrial Relations, currently headed by the Acting Chairman, Alphonso Manley, to remind the Vice President that it is high time for his findings to be made known as well as recommendations proffered that will importantly ensure that lasting peace and decorum be restored at the Terminal.
He said if the Vice President fails to do so within a stipulated period of time or otherwise they have no alternative but to officially write him in order to remind him of that promise.
According to Alphonso Manley the safety concern that was raised by the Management of NP-SL Ltd is indeed legitimate underscoring that with the building of houses close to the Terminal safety must be prioritized but said with the way APP is connecting or laying its pipes, members of the Consortium are also highly concerned about the safety of the Terminal and its environs.
In an exclusive interview with this medium he maintained that from their keen observation as a consortium the biggest challenge that petroleum marketing entities are currently contending with is the rapid fluctuation in the exchange rate of the Leone to the Dollar and has nothing to do with storage.
“To us storage facility is not the biggest challenge. The rapid way in which the exchange rate is fluctuating is seriously affecting their businesses and they have to pay salaries, overhead costs and at the same time want to make profits,” he underscored stressing that the depreciation of the Leone has been the foreboding challenge that needs to be addressed.
He stated that they are recommending a roundtable discussion between the Managements of petroleum marketing entities and the regulator, PRA, to strategize and find ways how to maintain some form of stability in the exchange rate that will not adversely affect the purchasing power of the oil marketing companies. “If this is done genuinely and with a sense of purpose a way will be charted out to move out of the quagmire that oil marketing companies in the country have been perennially placed,” he said with certainty.
He furthered that they are imploring the Government to make foreign currency accessible to petroleum marketing entities to enable them transact deals at ease as at now accessing such is an herculean task facing them.
The Acting Consortium Chairman used the opportunity to commend NP-SL Ltd for constructing facility that expedites the filling of bowzers with petroleum products for onward distribution maintaining that such saves time and makes room for efficiency.
He said as a 100% indigenous company, which is tremendously doing well, Government must do all it can to ensure that NP-SL Ltd is given the necessary attention it deserves, within the context of promoting the country’s Local Content Policy, in order for the company to continue to positively contribute to overall national development.
“I want to profusely commend NP-SL Ltd for commissioning a Filling or Gas Station at Mattru Jong which hitherto was seriously suffering from Energy Poverty but with the new station such has now become a thing of the past with all the attendants benefits that goes with its operations to the residents of that community,” the indefatigable Acting Chairman of the Consortium of Civil Society Organizations on Petroleum and Industrial Relations, Alphonso Manley, did not conceal his impression or admiration stressing that the company is seriously making steady inroads and progress towards improving the lives of many across the country.
