By Amin Kef Sesay
The Sierra Leone National Shipping Company (SLNSC) is one of the oldest parastatals in the country established way back in 1972 under the Companies Act CAP 249 as a joint venture between the Government of Sierra Leone and A/S Ocean Transport from Norway. As a matter of fact the rationale behind the establishment of the company bordered on providing clearing, forwarding, warehousing, haulage and shipping services.
Initially SLNSC was doing extremely well as a buoyant company seen to be positively contributing to revenue generation for the Government. Lamentably, over the years, the company became more of a liability than an asset to Government as a result of poor and inefficient management service delivery. As a result of this dysfunctional state of the SLNSC, the institution was placed under the supervision of the National Commission for Privatization (NCP) as one of the parastatals that should be restructured, revamped and if the need arises to privatize it. Even though that was done the status of the entity remained abysmal.
According to what workers of company intimated as well as other stakeholders contacted, things took a different dimension in 2018 when certain managerial changes were made alongside the appointment of a seasoned business administrator in the person of Ahmed Sayborn Kanu to serve as the Managing Director of the company.
Sayborn, as he is popularly known, took over a company that many described as a shadow of its former self or a carcass as even the building housing the company was in a dilapidated state with no proper managerial structure in place.
Before this time, according to investigations mounted by this medium, it was alleged that previous senior Executives of the company sold the clearing and ship’s agency to other competitors in the sector which severely undermined the company’s potential to grow.
This problem was compounded by the proliferation of clearing businesses, the absence of strategic focus on marketing and business promotion by the company.
What again was seriously amiss is that income from clearing and agency fees from shipping operations were not sufficient to support pre-finance operations and meet the administrative expenses of the company. Consequently, such resulted in the use of funds meant for payment to third parties to cushion staff cost and other administrative expenses leading to the accumulation of huge external debts amidst poor conditions of service.
To add salt to injury the company was plagued with a lot of mediocrity bordering political bickering among members of staff and the unwillingness of some to work with incoming appointees.
Things gradually started improving when a marked departure from the past was initiated by the current Managing Director Ahmed Sayborn Kanu, who out of sheer determination decided that it is high time that the status quo must be thoroughly overhauled.
He took giant strides to re-engineer the company towards standardized processes within a sound policy framework that is geared towards enhancing income generation and reduce leakages.
From what was learnt during our investigation, the initial step he took was to facilitate the strengthening of the company’s legal ability to do business against its competitors. His incessant lobbying culminated in the enactment of Section 31 of the Finance Act 2019 which provides: “Notwithstanding this Act or any agreement , all Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), State-Owned Enterprises, State Owned Banks, Extra-Budgetary Agencies, Treasury Account Budgetary Agencies and National Social Security Trust shall use the Sierra Leone National Shipping Company for all clearing and forwarding services.”
Before this enactment the aforementioned public entities used to engage the services of other clearing and forwarding agencies which was not helping Government realize much revenue from the sector.
Another significant reform that the new administration at SLNSC rolled out was improving the policy environment of the company. The Accounting Procedures and Asset Management Manuals were formulated. Since the inception of the company, for the first time, it developed a Commercial Operations Manual to regulate the clearing and shipping operations of the company.
A further conspicuous achievement of the company, as opined by a professional shipping agent of long standing experience, is the company’s penetration of into the private sector for clients. This means that under the current Management there has been a radical departure from an entirely public sector approach to a more private sector business oriented approach through institutional reforms, business approach ,facilitation, advertising ,robust customer care and reducing the lead times of clearing consignments.
From what was understood instituting these reforms was indeed daunting especially when synergy was lacking between the current Managing Director Ahmed Sayborn Kanu and the erstwhile Deputy Managing Director Mustapha Mark Lissa. This impasse could have emanated from the fact that the latter was expecting that he should have been elevated instead of bringing somebody new.
But what is certain is that under such a stalemate progress was difficult to achieve which therefore prompted the newly constituted Board of Directors of the company to recommend to the Chairman / Commissioner of NCP, Dr.Prince Harding to take the decision by the power invested in him for the termination of the services of the former Deputy Managing Director, Mustapha Mark Lissa, a recommendation that crystallized on the 17th August 2020. From what this medium understood it was not only the former Deputy Managing Director that was shown the exit door but others who were not meaningfully contributing to the growth of the company to make room for those who could add value.
Authoritatively, Dr.Prince Harding acted within the remit of the law as advised by the Board of Directors of the SLNSC.
David Saffa, was appointed as the new Deputy Managing Director of the company effective the 1st September 2020. From what this medium was intimated, David Saffa is no stranger to the business of clearing and forwarding. Before his latest appointment he was the founder and Managing Director of the Universal Shipping and Trading (USAT) Company in England, whose specialty is in air and seas freight to Sierra Leone. Besides his academic qualification in that field, he also has numerous contacts in the business of cargo freight in different parts of the world, which according to our findings will add value to the Sierra Leone National Shipping Company.
During a brief telephone chat with David Saffa, he disclosed how he is presently working on an initiative he came up with, in collaboration with other members of staff and relevant stakeholders, to introduce a new system whereby the SLNSC will establish contacts with reliable businesses or their agents overseas and link them up with individuals and business entities in this country.
“If an individual or business entity want (s) to procure goods overseas they could contact us, give us specifications, agree on the costs and we will link them up with the manufacturers or businesses overseas, air or sea freight their goods and forward same to them,” he explained adding that the greatest advantage of this system is that it will make travelling to different parts of the world on business trips unnecessary which will therefore save time and money.
From an informed point of view it seem there is at last light at the end of the tunnel for the SLNSC as the current two business administrators at the helm of affairs of the company are working assiduously to resurrect an entity that nearly went into coma.
It goes without any saying that the company, based on what was learnt at the Queen Elizabeth Quay, has competitive advantages. These include lower charges, proximity to the Ports, one-stop-shop of office and warehouses, assets base, expertise and robust network in the industry.
A cross section of employees told The Calabash that the Sierra Leone National Shipping Company will surely rise again from the look of things.
