By Amin Kef Sesay
In the discharge of the mandate of his office, the Chief Minister of Sierra Leone, Jacob Jusu Saffa, paid a working visit to the Kissy Oil Refinery which is located in the East End of Freetown on the 19th January 2022, during which period he and his entourage, in the company of the Executive Chair of the Petroleum Regulatory Agency (PRA), Dr. Brima Baluwa Koroma, the Ministers of Trade and the Environment, the General Manager of the Sierra Leone Ports Authority, Dr. Abdulai Fofana and his Deputy, Yankuba Askia Bio, conducted an inspection tour of the Refinery facilities.
During the inspection tour, the Chief Minister, who is well known for calling things by their real name did not mince his words but copiously stated that he is highly impressed with the level of serious investment that the oil marketing companies have made and continue to make in the downstream sector.
Jacob Jusu Saffa expressed how amazed and delighted he is to see firsthand the massive ongoing rehabilitation work undertaken by the National Petroleum-Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd) to improve on its facilities at the Oil Refinery at Kissy.
“To understand that NP-SL Ltd is spending over twenty five million dollars on rehabilitating its facilities at the Oil Refinery is not only awesome but speaks volume of how serious the company is to continue its operations and I am personally impressed with this,” the Chief Minister responded when he was informed.
He added that undertaking such is a clear manifestation of how a committed indigenous company, with a clear mission and purpose to meaningfully deliver, is steadily contributing to national development.
The Chief Minister also commended NP-SL for effective service delivery to members of the public over the years saying the company has exemplarily demonstrated professionalism to the highest level in terms of its interface with its numerous and esteemed customers throughout the country.
According to the Chief Minister, the conducted tour of the Kissy oil refinery was geared towards having first-hand information on the downstream sector. He maintained that seeing for himself will make it possible to make informed decisions related to the downstream sector in this country. “Making important decisions relating to that sector could make it possible for new jobs to be created, will help boost the country’s economy as well as make room for more investors,” the Chief Minister underscored.
The Chief Minister disclosed that even though Government has been making informed policies relating to the sector, however, his working visit was to see and assess how those policies are beneficial to the country.
During the conducted tour, the Chief Minister looked at and assessed facilities of Conex, formerly known as Total SL, the All Petroleum Products, and the National Petroleum-Sierra Leone Limited etc.
On his part the Executive Chairman of PRA, Dr Brima Baluwa Koroma, thanked the Chief Minister for touring the facilities and assessing developments at the Kissy Oil Installations.
He furthered how the manifesto promise made by the New Direction Government to turn around the downstream sector or oil industry is seen taking place and positively being translated into tangible reality on the ground that will benefit the country in diverse ways.
It could be recalled that the National Petroleum –Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd) is an indigenous oil importing and marketing company that has been in existence and functionally operating for over three decades. Due to sound managerial initiatives the company has made steady progress in its meteoric rise to become one of the renowned business entities not only in Sierra Leone but in neighbouring Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast and The Gambia where it has presence and functionally rendering services to its numerous customers.
One outstanding attribute of the company is its laid down policy of employing indigenes in the countries where it is operating as opposed to foreigners. This has benefitted many Sierra Leoneans, which hitherto were jobless and through such help put food on the tables of many families.
Besides, the company is paying huge taxes to the Government which has been contributing to put the latter at a vantage position to fund various development projects.
Financially responding to national disasters and catastrophes in big ways like it did during the Ebola, mudslide and COVID-19 outbreaks are just examples of how the company has rolled out its Corporate Social Responsibility.
For no less a person than the Chief Minister, Jacob Jusu Saffa, to make such complimentary remarks about NP-SL Ltd could not in any way be seen as mere window dressing or an over exaggeration but rather actually recognizing and acknowledging the good work that the company is doing on the ground.
With regards the Chief Minister’s comment about NP-SL’s commendable service delivery portfolio, an outstanding expert in the Oil industry stated that what was running through the mind of the Chief Minister were the politeness that Pump Attendants at various NP Filling Stations are demonstrating in treating customers, the introduction of the NP Smart Card that makes transactions easier and faster , the marketing of NP Gas at these Filling or Gas Stations etc which were vividly awaken in him because of what he saw at Kissy which could have so impressed him for him to copiously commend a company well known as 1st for Customer Care.
