By Amin Kef Sesay
The National Petroleum Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd) has once again demonstrated that it is a very compassionate (Kombra) company that is always ready and willing to support Government’s efforts in effecting positive interventions during good and bad times. At this crucial stage when the country is fighting tooth and nail to contain the spread of the deadly Coronavirus that is currently decimating developed as well as developing nations, the company wasted no time but to offer the huge sum of one billion Leones to the Government and People of Sierra Leone in order to scale up the fight against a very dreadful enemy.
Just recently, on Thursday 2nd April, 2020 the petroleum marketing giant in the country donated one Billion Leones to the Covid-19 Fund. The cheque was received on behalf of the SLPP led Government by the Chief Minister, Professor David Francis. Indeed, this was no mean offer or gesture to the Government and People of this country to scale up the containment of the spread of the killer virus and it is expected that it will go a long way to make the Government financially solvent to give all the needed necessary support to health workers as well as assist in the procurement of basic medical equipment.
Indisputably, NP-SL Ltd stands tall as the leading petroleum marketing company in the country, well renowned for its customer care posture. The Shareholders and Management of the company do place high premium on customer care as they are very mindful of the fact that with a large customer base the company will not survive very challenging times. It was against this backdrop that the owners of the company decided to invest hugely in importing state of the art calibrated pumping machines which are installed at its various Filling Stations highly capable of pumping the exact amount of fuel, petrol or diesel, and at the same time display the prices. What this means is that the company’s esteemed customers derive utmost satisfaction as they know they are getting back their money’s worth. In other words, these machines are helping in dispelling the presumption that customers are being cheated whenever they purchase fuel by getting less for what they are paying for.
To again give its customers the best device for cooking purposes, the shareholders and Management thought it fit to introduce NP Gas which is manufactured in different cylinder sizes and powered by gas which is marketed by the company. According to a thorough investigation mounted by this medium it was uncovered that NP Gas is environmentally friendly, very portable and safe for domestic use. They could be secured at the company’s different Filling Stations right across the country.
Along the same line of giving their customers utmost satisfaction and make life somehow comfortable for them, the company also introduced NP Smart Card which is also a memory chip that could be used to purchase fuel. As long as the card is loaded with money, a customer could easily procure the amount of fuel required. It is indeed a latest way of transacting business, preventing a customer from the hassle of having to rush to the bank to withdraw funds especially on a Friday evening just for the purpose of securing fuel to last over the weekend. This has been described as the most convenient way of purchasing fuel as it saves time and is very secure.
When it comes to the full implementation of the country’s Local Content Policy NP-SL has been well commended for honoring it to the fullest. The company is strictly adhering to an internal policy of giving employment preference to Sierra Leoneans except otherwise. This 100% indigenous company considers Sierra Leoneans first when it comes to offering jobs and that has considerably contributed towards poverty reduction and in helping to boost the morale and profile of the company.
It can be stated with all amount of certainty that NP-SL is one of the few indigenous companies that has successfully opened branches in Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast and The Gambia and all of these branches are doing extremely well within the same ambit of its modus operandi. In all these countries the company is timely paying huge taxes to the Governments and such is putting those political entities at vantage positions to fund certain development projects.
It can be safely concluded that NP-SL is indeed greatly contributing towards the socio-economic development of the various countries where it is soundly operating.
