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NECTAR Group Commences $35M Berth Expansion Project at the Queen Elizabeth 11 Quay

Sierra Leone Ports Authority (SLPA).png

By Amin Kef-Ranger

In collaboration with the Sierra Leone Ports Authority (SLPA), the National Commission for Privatization (NCP) and the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, Nectar Sierra Leone Bulk Terminal (NSBT) ,popularly  known as Nectar, on the 9th June,2022 held a ground breaking ceremony at the Queen Elizabeth 11 Quay in Freetown for the construction of a new deep-water jetty with a new berth as well as to refurbish an existing berth to enable a larger class of vessel size (up to Panamax size) to call at Freetown. The cost of the Project, which is slated to be completed in 14 months, is a $35M.

The turning of the sod for the commencement of the project was done on that day by the First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Dr Fatima Bio.

The auspicious occasion was graced by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Hinga Sandy, the Deputy Minister of Transport and Aviation ,Rex Bonapha, the Member of Parliament of Constituency 121, where the Project is implemented, Hon. Miniru Lansana, other high profiled personalities including the General Manager of the Sierra Leone Ports Authority (SLPA) and his Deputy, Dr Abdulai Fofana and Yakuba Askia Bio respectively, the SLPA Board Chairman , Manso Dumbuya, the Nectar Group Director, Guy Wikes, the Project  Consultant, Gordon  Rankine,  Project Contractor, Guilbaud Laurent, a representative from the National Commission for Privatization, Saffura Rogers, Staff of NSTB, well wishers and members of the Fourth Estate.

The programme was chaired by Dr Julius Spencer and various personalities present made statements including the NSBT Group Director, Guy Wilkes, the Project Consultant, Gordon Rankine, the General Manager of Sierra Leone Ports Authority (SLPA), Dr Abdulai Fofana, the Project Contractor, Guilbaud Laurent, the Member of Parliament, Constituency 121 Hon. Miniru Lansana, the representative of the Chairman of NCP, Saffura Rogers and the Deputy Minister of Transport, Rex Bonapha.

The keynote address was delivered by the First Lady, Dr Fatima Bio.

All the speakers underscored the importance of the project and the benefits that it will bring after completion.

Key benefits highlighted after completion of the project were how it will increase the ease of shipment, make it possible for competitiveness, viability and profitability of the port facilities to come to fruition and attract greater international traffic.

Furthermore, NSBT, via the project will provide modern facilities and expand the existing berths and quayside space, increase import capacities and enable more cost-effective shipments by having deeper draft, more efficient unloading systems and a reduction in operational costs for importers and ship-owners alike.

It will make it possible to double tonnage handling in 9 years from 400,000mts (2016) to 800,000mts (2025) at QEII Berths (excluding 1.6m tons handled per annum at Nitti), put NSBT  at a more vantage position to handle clinker, cement, rice, palm oil, fertilizers & wheat and further develop handling of bauxite and iron ore.

The activities and expected improvements that will follow the berth expansion include continuation by NSBT to provide services including unloading of vessels to storing of cargo in the port warehouses, as well as maintenance of all terminal equipment.

The new berth will provide additional capacity to handle more volumes as the trade grows. In addition, the backfill area will provide additional cargo handling and storage area.

The new berth will also provide 190 m berthing space (Max LOA for vessel 225m) and 13 m draft.

NSBT will continue to provide the following services: Bulk and break bulk discharge and loading, Weighbridge services, long or short term storage facilities, Quayside bagging facilities, integrated digital Terminal Management System and Consolidated Cargo Management.

The expected environmental improvements following berth expansion will include 16,000mt vessel of bulk clinker / gypsum will take on average 400 truck movements during the discharge. Currently these trucks have to travel 1.5km round trip from the factory to the berth to load and return.

The new berth will reduce that distance to 300m – thus reducing the overall distance travelled for the trucks by 80%.

That also means that discharge speeds will be increased and the environmental impact of engines running / trucks moving through the terminal will be reduced by the same amount.

It will also allow NSBT to segregate the terminal so that when handling foodstuffs like Rice / Grain on Berth 1 and 2, the more industrial type of cargoes can be kept at a distance and thus eradicate any risk of cross contamination.

The new berth will provide 225 m berthing space and 13 m draft allowing for larger vessels and economies of scale thus reducing the carbon footprint on a per shipment basis.

In addition, the new berth will allow NSBT to target a reduction in traffic (truck movements and number of trucks needed / noise and congestion for one of its major clients. Just in distance alone, it will produce a saving of 6,000kms of truck movements per annum for just 1 client in terms of distance travelled during the unloading.

NP-SL Poised to Diligently & Selflessly Serve Humanity to Attain Absolute Satisfaction

NP-SL: Held in Esteem for Being Foremost as a Resilient Company

By Amin Kef-Ranger

NP–Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd) is really poised to continue doing business in petroleum products in this country despite all the challenges it is confounded with. Going beyond the normal business spirit the Shareholders and Management of the company deemed it as a moral obligation to avail the citizenry accessibility to qualitative petroleum products believing that it is meaningfully contributing towards enhancing standards of living.

This indomitable company has gained massive local as well as international recognition for its meteoric rise and the higher height that it has reached through effective service delivery. Through its pro-active stance, the company is always ensuring that members of the general public have easy and ready access to qualitative petroleum products of high quality.

Those who have interfaced with the company have confessed that it is amongst the most successful privately owned and operated business entities this country can boast of that have withstand varying external shocks, within and without, but admirably is steadfast in its service delivery.

As a 100% indigenously owned and operated company, NP-SL has over the years, successfully extended its operations country-wide and even beyond to the West African Sub-region in Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast and The Gambia where it is doing extremely well with regards service delivery, rolling out its Corporate Social Responsibility, availing job opportunities, offering new products among a host of other things that it is churning out.

Very mindful that without their cherished customers there will be no NP-SL, the shareholders and Management have made customer care a number one priority which is why the company is synonymous with 1st For Customer Care. With the conviction that every experience matters, the Management is very receptive to new initiatives, ideas, suggestions and concerns as long as they could help in shaping the policies that the company outlines from time to time that will be translated into tangibles on the ground.

In order to give maximum and optimal satisfaction to customers, NP-SL has always ensured that it operates in tandem with international standards and best practices so that after any service delivery customers get the good feeling that they have derived value for money. The company’s filling stations are state of the art structures having modern calibrated pumping machines that are transparent and accurate in terms of measurement.

Their attendants are well mannered, always courteous and ready to assist both old and new customers whenever they are in doubt of what to do. Most have tire repairing sections, shopping marts and relaxation points where they can spend time doing what they think is right to do. All these facilities are made available to make customers feel at home and be comfortable.

“I always carry my NP Smart Card with me just in case my car’s fuel gauge will show red and I may not exactly have the required amount of money to refill or even if I have it such could be for another purpose. With my card I can just breeze into any NP Filling Station and by using my card the attendant will pump the quantity of petrol I need,” Amadu Bangura, an engineer intimated adding how the card’s security features are unique and could not be easily falsified. “When I first heard of ‘Your fuel on Smart Card’ I thought it was a joke but only realized its efficacy when I started making use of it,” he furthered saying he is really finding it very convenient in doing so and as such prevent him from withdrawing big cash from his bank account for purchasing fuel adding how it as well help in also saving him time.

NP Gas is now the talk of the day as numerous individuals are everyday coming to the realization that it is very suitable for cooking purposes without posing any serious health risks. Manufactured in different cylinder sizes NP Gas is marketed at all the company’s filling stations and by authorized dealers going at affordable prices. Advantageously, NP Gas can be refilled with gas that the company imports and markets making them simple for customers to continue their use.

With regards rolling out its Corporate Social Responsibility, NP-SL Ltd is rated high as it has been contributing effectively in improving lives and communities. The company has been making meaningful interventions, meaningfully supporting worthy courses.

These interventions, worth millions of Leones, are through which the company magnanimously gives back to society. Lives have indeed changed for the better as a result of NP’s interventions.

Utilizing local skills and talents has been topmost in the agenda of discussions relating to national development. The argument for embracing the Local Content Policy borders around enhancing entrepreneurship, comparatively making use of less financial resources to pay for accomplished tasks and creating job opportunities thereby reducing poverty.

NP-SL has made it an established policy to give priority, in terms of employment, to Sierra Leoneans as long as they are in positions or competent to perform. The same is replicated everywhere the company is operating. Such an acclaimed stance is contributing greatly towards poverty reduction and improving lives.

From all indications it is very apparent that the premier oil marketing company, NP-SL-Ltd, is doggedly poised to continue to improve on its business strategies and step up interface with relevant stakeholders with the avowed aim of continuing to diligently and selflessly serve the people of this country and indeed it is walking the talking, doing exemplary well to foster meaningful socio-economic development.

 

 

World Environment Day Celebrated with Arts and Poetry Competition

Delegation of the European Union

By EU Press & Information Section

The Delegation of the European Union to Sierra Leone on Monday 6th June 2022, celebrated World Environment Day (June 5) with a poetry and arts competition organised by the Sierra Leone School Green Club with financial support from the EU Delegation.

Students of Kelly’s Rural Vocational School (winners of the competition) doing a presenting of their artwork

Ten selected secondary schools in Freetown participated in the arts and poetry competition on the theme of the World Environment Day: ‘We Have #OnlyOneEarth, let’s Take Care of It’. This is part of the European Union’s continued engagement in climate action with the public. The objective is to raise awareness on the impact of climate change and environmental degradation in Sierra Leone and across the world.

Students aged 13 to 18 years from the designated schools exhibited their artworks and read their poems to the panel of distinguished judges at the Freetown City Council Auditorium. The event was honoured by the presence of government officials, local authorities, students, teachers, representatives from the civil society organizations and the private sector and environmental activists.

The artworks and the poems highlighted topics on critical environmental challenges in Sierra Leone. This included air, soil and water pollution, waste management and reduction of plastics, stone and sand mining, sustainable land use and deforestation. These challenges negatively contribute to environmental degradation, climate change and global warming.

The youth whose future is most threatened by climate change also proffered possible solutions to address some of the eminent environmental challenges facing not only Sierra Leone but also other countries around the world, in order to protect the lives and livelihoods of the present and future generations.

The Head of Cooperation of the European Union in Sierra Leone, Gerald Halter, congratulated the students for their remarkable presentations, which he believes, adequately demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of contemporary environmental problems, which bothers on the future of not only the current generation but also future generations.

He said, the European Green Deal is one of the main pillars of European Union partnership with Sierra Leone. This is reflected in the EU cooperation strategy with Sierra Leone (2021 – 2027), which effectively seeks to address environmental challenges in the country. Thereby, the EU clearly demonstrates its strong commitment in fighting climate change, global warming, and in promoting environmental sustainability in Sierra Leone.

“Change is possible, if only we act together and take the necessary actions needed to protect our environment, because we only have one earth, let’s take care of it!” he concluded.

Acting Chief Director of Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Environment, Edward P. Bendu, said the artworks depicted clear messages about the environmental hazards. He acknowledged the “European Union’s tremendous support to promoting environmental management and sustainability in Sierra Leone by working with CSOs and government agencies in the country”. The Acting Chief Director cited the EU’s support towards the establishment of the Western Area Peninsula National Park – a catchment area that provides about 90% of water supply to Freetown.

Three schools emerged victorious in the competition; Kelly’s Rural Vocational Secondary School won the first position, Baptist Secondary School and Huntingdon Senior Secondary School came second and third respectively and were awarded various prizes sponsored by the EU.

The EU has been actively involved in a wide range of programmes promoting green and sustainable agriculture, associated with fair trade and organic certification and is currently supporting different environmental and biodiversity initiatives. The EU programmes target more than 80% of all protected areas of Sierra Leone. This includes the Outamba-Kilimi National Park, Kambui Hills National Park, Management of Mangrove Forests (coastal landscapes from Senegal to Benin), and Conservation of the Gola Forest Landscape (Sierra Leone and Liberia), Revision of National Determined Contribution (NDC) and the Blue carbon project in the mangrove forest of the Sherbro River among several others Delegation of the European Union

Parliament Dissociates itself from a so-called“Parliamentary Welfare Act 2022”

Parliament of Sierra Leone

By Amin Kef-Ranger

In a Press Release issued by the Parliament of Sierra Leone dated 8th June, 2022 and signed by Hon. Paran Umar Tarawally as Clerk of Parliament it was pointed out that the attention of the Office of the Clerk has been drawn to a certain document on social and other media entitled “Parliamentary Welfare Act 2022″ with the name of the Speaker of Parliament ascribed.

Hon. Paran Umar Tarawally stated that he wishes to clarify that the said document, being a private member’s bill has not been presented to Parliament for consideration and as such, neither the Office of Speaker nor Clerk is aware of its existence.

He underscored that even though it is the right of individual Members of Parliament to prepare and pilot private member’s bills as provided for in Standing Order 61, Parliament wishes the general public to note that it has nothing to do with the above-mentioned bill.

The Clerk of Parliament maintained that the law provides that for a private member’s bill to be recognized by the House, it must fulfill certain conditions, including Gazetting the document and formally serving the Office of the Clerk reiterating that as at the time of the Press Release, the bill in question has not met the said conditions and hence, “not before Parliament”.

He said Parliament therefore wishes to disassociate itself from the bill and to inform the general public accordingly.

 

Tourism Minister & DG of Gambia Tourism & Hospitality Institute Hold Fruitful Discussions

Tourism Minister & DG of Gambia Tourism

By Elisha Harding

Momodou Singhateh, Deputy Director General of the Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute, on the 6th June 2022 , held  discussions bordering on possible support training in the field of tourism with the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Memunatu Pratt at the Ministry’s Kingharman Road Office in Freetown.

Prior to the Deputy Director General’s visit to Dr. Pratt, the Gambian High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, Allieu K. Jammeh informed the Minister that a group of people running a tourism school in The Gambia will visit and consult with the Ministry on how they can support and provide assistance in the area of tourism in collaboration with the hotel association for those working in hotels.

Momodou Singhateh said it was in the spirit of African brotherhood that they want Sierra Leone to benefit from what The Gambia has enjoyed in the area of hospitality over the years just as The Gambia benefitted from Sierra Leonean education in the 80’s.

He said the development of the industry should not be in isolation, hence they cannot develop as a West African Destination in the absence of their brothers and sisters. He added that modern tourism is very dynamic and people are looking for value for money. He revealed that a cruise shipping company based in USA will be recruiting 2500 staff to sign them up in various cruise ships across the world, an opportunity he said they want to extend with other West African Countries starting with Sierra Leone.

In her remarks, the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Memunatu Pratt thanked the Deputy Director General for the visit and welcomed the idea of training people in the hotel industry, saying that it matched what the Ministry has been doing over the years.

To get this initiative up and running in the right direction, they agreed on the following action points; that they signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gambia through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in supporting Sierra Leone with hospitality training especially with in service and short term courses in partnership with the hotel association, short term training that will be organized by the Ministry and the hotel association as an immediate action for basic hospitality training for those already employed, developing the framework and action plan, visit to the regions for an on the spot assessment of training needs of the sector in addition to the human resource capacity building needs assessment done by Government.

 

Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr Appeals for Statistics Sierra Leone to Urgently Review Census Provisional Results

Freetown City Council (FCC)

By Millicent Mannah

In a correspondence authored by the Mayor of the Freetown City Council (FCC), Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr addressed to Professor Osman Sankoh, the  Statistician General of Statistics Sierra Leone with a title
“Concerns Re Accuracy Of Mid-Term Census Results For Western Area Urban (Freetown)” she mentioned seeing on social media the provisional results of the mid-term population and housing census which according to her indicates that the population of the capital city, Freetown (Western Area Urban), has decreased by 42.5% from 1,055,964 in 2015 to 606,701 in 2021.

She continued that as the Mayor of Freetown, she is extremely concerned about the accuracy of that data and the significant additional development challenges that would result from the adoption of inaccurate data in respect of Freetown’s population.

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr stated how she  wishes to bring to his attention published and/or independently verifiable data points which strongly suggest that there has been a substantial undercount of Freetown’s population in the mid-term population and housing census.

“I set these data points out below with brief explanations of how they relate to the provisional results of the Freetown mid-term census population,” she informed that the total number of voters in Western Area Urban registered by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) for the March 2018 general elections was 606,939.

She went on to point out that the NEC registered voters are 18 years old and over and are thus a subset of the entire population maintaining  how that number is greater than the mid-term census provisional Freetown population of 606,701 which is meant to reflect the entire population.

The FCC Mayor revealed that the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) 2020 school census1 confirmed that there are 413,407 pupils enrolled in Western Area Urban (pre-primary to senior secondary).

According to her, the number of school pupils in the MBSSE school census gives an indication of those in the Western Area Urban between the ages of 6 years and 18 years, but said it must be noted that it does not include those under the age of 6 years arguing how there are many children in Western Area Urban who are not enrolled in school and so the total number of those between 0 and 18 in Freetown is in fact greater than the 413,407 recorded in the MBSSE 2020 school census.

The Mayor added that the combination of the school pupils recorded in the MBSSE 2020 school census (413,407) and the number of NEC registered Western Area Urban voters (606,939) effectively covers those between 6 to 18 years and those 18 years and over who chose to be registered giving a total of 1,020,346.

She disclosed how the Freetown City Council introduced a digital property rate system in 2020 which used satellite images of the city to capture all properties in the city for inclusion in the Council’s  property database.

“A distinction is made in the property database between formal structures (properties with foundations, walls, roofs etc) which are assessed for property rates and informal structures (those without foundations) which are not assessable for property rates,” she pointed out.

She said as at 8th June 2022, Freetown City Council has 107,526 assessable domestic properties (formal structures) in its property database maintaining that  based on the 2015 National Census data, Western Area Urban has 9.2 population per house and so it could be assumed that there are approximately 989,239 people (107,526 x 9.2) living in the domestic properties in Freetown City Council database.

The Mayor said Slum Dwellers Association’s partner organization, the Centre of Dialogue on Human Settlement and Poverty Alleviation (CODOHSAPA), conducted population profiling of 58 slum communities in Western Area Urban between November 2020 and May 2021 and recorded 344,147 people saying the vast majority of those people live in informal structures which are not assessable for property rates.

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr said combining the estimated 989,239 people that live in the Freetown City Council assessed domestic properties with the 344,147 people profiled as living in 58 slum communities, gives a total of 1,333,386 people.

She argued that with rapid rural-urban migration and in the absence of development controls (land-use planning and an effective building permit regime) Freetown has in recent years experienced an exponential growth in the number and size of informal settlements (slum communities) with many of these, unfortunately expanding into the coastal mangroves and up onto the hills around the city.

Based on what she said, the MBSSE 2020 school census was funded by the World Bank and the European Union and the population profiling was funded by the World Bank and Slum Dwellers International.

She said the Migration and Urbanization Report published by Statistics Sierra Leone in October 2017 states, “The percentage of lifetime in-migrants shows that the most migrant-attractive region in Sierra Leone is the Western Area, where a little more than half of the enumerated population were born outside the region….. The influence of the capital Freetown certainly plays a major role in making the Western Region attractive to migrants. This city is the economic, financial and cultural centre of Sierra Leone. Most of the country’s largest companies and international companies locate their headquarters in Freetown. Furthermore, Freetown has the most functional harbour, around which its economy revolves, is home to the Government, and has the best social and economic infrastructure”.

The Mayor pointed out that Statistics Sierra Leone findings resonate with the findings of their work on rural-urban migration at the Freetown City Council.

She said related to membership of the Mayors Migration Council, Freetown City Council conducted a survey of members of sanitation tricycle groups in 2020 and confirmed that over 40% of the existing members were rural-urban migrants.

Similarly, she furthered, through their work on informal settlement upgrades and related surveys conducted in 2020, they noted that 37% of people living in Cockle Bay and 35% of people living in Kolleh Town are rural-urban migrants.

“Furthermore   aerial   images taken between 2015 and 2022  show the physical expansion of four informal settlements (slum communities) from year to year as more and more people have moved into Freetown,” she reiterated adding that the physical expansion of slum communities is replicated across all 74 slum communities in Western Area Urban.

The FCC Mayor claimed that the delivery of services and much needed infrastructure for the residents of Freetown is already a significant challenge due to serious financial resource constraints including but not limited to fiscal transfers from the Government of Sierra Leone.

She said approximately 55% of Government fiscal transfers are allocated to cover the operations of Freetown’s secondary hospitals (Macauley Street Hospital and Lumley Hospital) and the District Health Medical Team (DHMT).

“Government fiscal transfers to Freetown City Council have already been subject to substantial reductions in recent years, including a 90% reduction in the administrative grant allocated to the Freetown City Council from 2018 to 2022,” she stated.

She told the Statistician  General that if the mid-term provisional Freetown population result is adopted, it would trigger a commensurate reduction in the Government of Sierra Leone fiscal allocations to Freetown as well as a potential reduction in other financial inflows (overseas development aid, foreign direct investments, private sector funds etc).

According to her such would be a great injustice to the well over 1 million Freetonians living in a very overcrowded city with a high demand for and right to improved services.

She said the purported 42.5% reduction in the population of Freetown suggested by the provisional results of the mid-term census is not consistent with independent verifiable data points as highlighted above, nor with the visible physical experience of informal settlement growth within the city.

Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr concluded by saying that in the light of all the above, she would be most grateful if Statistics Sierra Leone could urgently review the provisional results for the mid- term census for Freetown as the current results clearly significantly undercount the city’s population.

Copies of her correspondence were sent to the Minister of Development and Economic Planning, the Minister of Western Region, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, the Chairperson, Budget and Finance Committee, Freetown City Council and  the Chief Administrator, Freetown City Council.

 

C.F. Margai & Associates Raise Concern on How the Judiciary is Functioning

C.F. Margai & Associates

By Foday Moriba Conteh

In a letter written by C.F. Margai & Associates, dated 6th June, 2022 and addressed to the Chief Justice of Sierra Leone with the caption, “Re: Request For Information Pursuant To The Right To Access Information Act No.2 Of 2013”, it was stated theirs, as a Chamber, is a registered Legal body with the right to practice Law in Sierra Leone.

Stated in the letter was that they, as legal practitioners, have on numerous occasions sent letters to him as Chief Justice expressing their concern regarding the functioning of the Judiciary under his watch, with particular reference to:-inordinate delay in assigning cases, inordinate delay in delivering Judgements/Rulings which is a flagrant breach of Section 120(16) of the Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No.6 of 1991 and the wanton interference with the administration of Justice, when matters are assigned.

According to C.F. Margai & Associates, the above amounts to injudicious acts tending towards a denial of Justice!!

Further underscored was that by reason of that premise, they are constrained to seek and accordingly seek information with a view to improving judicial performance as well as restoring confidence in the judicial system, which has long been lost since Hon. Justice Livesy Luke C.J. stepped down as Chief Justice of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

The authors of the letter asked the Chief Justice to please disclose by compartmentalizing his response into -Supreme Court, Court of Appeal ,High Court & Magistrate Courts on how many cases are awaiting assignment, how many Judgements are outstanding (with dates) and how many Rulings are outstanding (with dates).

Copies of the letter were sent to the Secretary to the President, President’s office, State House, Freetown, the Attorney-General & Minister of Justice, the Solicitor-General, Chairman, Committee supervising the Judiciary, the Executive Secretary, The Right to Information Commission, Parliamentary Leader, S.L.P.P, Parliamentary Leader, A.P.C, Parliamentary Leader, N.G.C and Parliamentary Leader, C.4.C.

 

Sierra Leonean Writer Portrays Vickie Remoe in a Positive Light

Sierra Leonean Writer Portrays Vickie Remoe

By Elisha Harding

A writer by the name of Memuna Konteh has profiled Vickie Remoe  far reaching portfolio and explored her many endeavors in which she stated   that Vickie believes strongly that the media should reflect “the truth about a place” saying how the podcast is not the only medium she uses to further her mission of spreading positive truths about Sierra Leone.

She narrated how Vickie has several adjacent projects including her children’s books, ‘Adama Loves Akara’ and ‘A Print for Amie’ and is also founder of the Swit Salone blog which curates and reports on current affairs and events making the country’s cultural and political happenings accessible to all. According to her, the blog receives over one million hits a year.

Memuna furthered that outside of those endeavours, the multi-faceted presenter, writer, and host runs a marketing company which helps African businesses and organizations promote themselves in exciting and authentic ways further revealing how Vickie is very vocal on social media and is among the most prominent voices on ‘Salone Twitter’.

She ended up quoting Vickie Remoe: “If you do a Google search on Sierra Leone, most of the content feeds into what I like to call the development agenda… the narrative online is almost completely focused on our failures. When people look up our country, I don’t want them to just think about poverty and health care and all these social issues, I want [the content] to tell the truth about art and culture and history and dance.”

 

Vote Now to Retain Your Favourite Housemate in the Competition

Housemates Salone Season 3

By Amin Kef-Ranger

Housemates Salone Season 3, a Reality TV Show that continues to thrill many, in and out of the country with its captivating episodes , which according to parental advisory, is meant for watching by people aged 18 years and above is getting hotter .

As the show has been progressing, coupling of the Housemates had been and is still taking place. It could be recalled that on Sunday 5th June, 2022 ,  Edward Wright, Ina Elizabeth Cole, Daniel Sesay and Juliet Konya Sesay were shown the exit door after an Eviction was done  marking the end of what has been their amazing journey.

After every eviction the Housemates are uncoupled by the Chief of the House for a new coupling. The Housemates are given the opportunity to choose someone whom they will be comfortable with for the week and performer their different tasks to win points.

Already re-coupling has been done and the Housemates were availed the opportunity to choose former couples provided if it was their wish and it was learnt that some gladly did so.

For the men it was an unfortunate situation because majority of the coupling decision were made by the ladies. For now all the couples are performing assigned tasks against this weekend when the next eviction is slated to take place.

Their fate will be partly decided by members of the public voting. To do so, the organizers of the Reality TV Show and Africell SL , have made it easy for members of the public via AFRIMONEY by simply Dialing: **161*10* plus the NUMBER of an Housemate from an Africell line.

It could also be done online by going to: https://housematessl.com or https://www.africell.sl and follow the instructions there.

Eighteen Housemates now have the Yagba of battling it out to the top for one to emerge as the ultimate winner to proudly bag a mouthwatering prize of Le250M plus a fully sponsored round trip to Dubai.

Also, one of the sponsors of the Reality TV Show, Zarlux Car Rental, has revealed that a brand new car will be given to the winner of the Zarlux Car Rental task that will be performed by the Housemates in the House during the course of the show.

Members of the public could watch the Reality TV Show live, on a 24/7 basis, on AYV Entertainment Channels 34 & 33 and AYV on DSTV Channel 399. It must also be noted that Housemates Salone Season 3 is also shown on, what is widely referred to as Nigeria and Ghana DSTV.

Viewers now have a wide variety of platforms through which they could enjoy the Reality TV Show.

In as much as they are now in the House, the Housemates are sometimes appearing sexy and displaying some form of nudity. Sometimes they are seen talking harshly because they are also expected to intermittently use strong language and be humorous. Proper manifestation of those traits are really making the Reality TV Show very interesting to watch, providing some form of comic relief for viewers and serve as a therapy to reduce stresses.

Vote now to retain your favourite Housemate in the House because those with the least votes are likely to be evicted. Don’t say you were not informed and remember that procrastination is the thief of time.

NP-SL Continues to Enhance Efforts to Optimize Customer Satisfaction

National Petroleum Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL-Ltd)

By Amin Kef-Ranger

NP-Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd) is tirelessly working round the clock, engaging oil producing companies in business discussions, to always ensure that supply is continually flowing in. This pro-activeness, on the part of the company, has made it quite possible for stocks to last over periods of time in order to avert the occurrence of shortages.

NP-SL is a 100% indigenous company to the letter and it has weathered various storms that could have dwarfed it or left it to extinct save therapeutic intermittent Managerial injections that kept it upright and on the right course.

Demonstrating its true Sierra Leonean identity the company has maintained a policy of strictly adhering to the Local Content Policy ensuring that it has a maximum of indigenous staff in its employ. What this actually means is empowering our brothers and sisters to access employment opportunities and reduce poverty.

As a matter of fact some of its members continue to benefit from various trainings that have afforded them the conduit to imbibe useful skills to efficiently carry out certain tasks. If we are counting the number of companies that have upheld the Local Content Policy, without any iota of doubt, NP-SL could be seen at the top.

This intrinsic nationalistic posture of the company runs through and it is a sine qua non to overall national development. If such a compliance rate should have been followed by other local companies, willingly, without any pressure from the relevant authorities then indisputably this country should have been miles away in its development trajectory.

Business Management experts have made it abundantly clear that the way and manner in which customers are cared for in terms of talking to them, making them feel at ease go a long way in attracting them. Such should be done sincerely in order to make them more important. NP-SL for a very long period now has mastered that art and executing it so well which definitely is paying dividends.

1st for Customer Care was earned by the company because it has been widely acclaimed by many for solidly executing such.

In its drive to optimize customer satisfaction the company went the extra mile to install calibrated pumping machines which are not only modern but trustworthy, as opposed to old pumping machines which certain unscrupulous individuals used to cheat unassuming customers.

This is helping to repose confidence in customers that they are dealing with a very transparent entity. The friendliness of their pump attendants is very impressive and they are always there to timely respond to various concerns.

Still within the purview of 1st for Customer Care, the company is always in position to enter into payment plans with its reliable and dependable customers including Ministries, Departments and Agencies for supplied fuel and lubricants as long as all the necessary modalities have been put in place.

When cognizance is taken of the fact that some of these institutions receive intermittent budgetary allocations then such an arrangement is very significant. Its significance in real terms borders on functional continuity of those institutions as they will be assured of supplies of petroleum products in as much as they keep honoring their obligations.

For those who have not tried NP Gas for the first time it is now time to give it a try. Designed in sizable varying cylinders and sold at various NP Filling Stations, this cooking device has been rated as one of the best that is on offer for sale. NP Gas is safe, user friendly and portable. Trying it and such will spur you to recommend it to others.

NP Smart Card is now in vogue and is one of the latest technological devices used to purchase petroleum products. Using it has attendant advantages as evident in procuring fuel at any time of the day even during times when monies could not be accessed from banks. It is a secured, easy to use and very quick. It is now trending.

To crystallize proposed projects into tangible realities on the ground, Government needs the required financial resources to effectively do so and one sure way is from collection of taxes which is the mandate of the National Revenue Authority (NRA).  NP is one biggest tax payers to Government and it has been honouring its obligation timely.

The company stands exceptional in terms of having branches within the West African sub-region in countries such as Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast and The Gambia. In all those countries, the company is operating in the same as it is doing in the parent country, Sierra Leone. It is upholding the Local Content Policy in those countries, considering nationals first in terms of employment as a means of giving empowerment in various forms.

NP-SL Ltd is indeed a source of pride to many Sierra Leoneans for operating branches in the aforementioned countries, an accomplished feat which can only be made by serious minded people who are focused on enhancing development in various ways. Sierra Leoneans always feel proud in those countries to see such an investment.

Equally too, the company has really made meaningful headway in expanding its operations in areas or communities within the country considered to be hard to reach areas. In partnership with entrepreneurs, more Filling Stations have been opened in those places and such has contributed in reducing energy poverty. Besides, such has reduced the constraints commercial motor drivers, bike and Kekeh riders were facing to access petroleum products. Also the opening of those new Filling Stations has contributed greatly in providing employment for residents in those places who were hitherto finding it difficult to make ends meet. With decent jobs their lives and those of family members have been greatly improved.

NP-SL remains undaunted, unperturbed amidst certain unfounded criticisms it had faced and still faces, from time to time but conscientiously  but the company is steadily contributing to the socio-economic development of the country as well as  positively changing communities and lives.

 

 

 

 

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