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ACC Updates the Press on Auditor General’s 2018 Report

Anti -Corruption Commissioner, Francis Ben Kaifala

At a press conference held at the St, George Cathedral Hall in Freetown, the Anti -Corruption Commissioner, Francis Ben Kaifala told journalists and Civil Society representatives present at the meeting that after perusal of the Auditor General’s 2019 Audit Report, they discovered that certain issues dating back to 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 were captured in the report. This venture by the Auditor General, he said, is a composite analysis of the financial transactions of MDAs and Commissions, including those that took place in 2018.

Ben Kaifala furthered that during their examination of the Report, they discovered that some of the issues raised have been investigated and actions taken, some are currently under investigation and others will be given immediate attention. He went on to say that there are issues that investigations have been completed on by the Commission and the persons of interest have been ordered to pay back those monies, in other cases some payment have been done and further payments are due, according to the arrangements made with the persons of interest. In some other cases, they have charged the matters to Court, whilst others are being investigated.

He noted with dismay the discovery in the Report about failure on the part of the National Revenue Authority (NRA) to collect outstanding GST from known businesses. That institution, he maintained, has the mandate to even get the Court to order the culprits to honour their debts. However, he said the ACC will engage the NRA on those issues and if they fail to retrieve those monies, the ACC will take the necessary actions to get the defaulters to comply.

Ben Kaifala further outlined the various issues in the Audit Report that borders on the past years, noting that various Ministries have issues and the following have been put on priority list for immediate investigation: Ministry of Finance, Local Government Ministry, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Transport and Aviation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Judiciary etc.

He stressed that the ACC will be working closely with Parliament to ensure accountability for the missing funds. He noted that the Parliament of Sierra Leone has the constitutional mandate to investigate all matters of corruption and because of the volume of work on its hand, it decided to form the ACC. Thus the Commission is not usurping the powers of Parliament, but rather working on their behalf for the good of the people of Sierra Leone. Kaifala hastened to say whilst there are cases of corruption to be investigated, yet it does not mean that when the Report say documentary evidence has not been provided for some transactions, that an act of corruption has taken place.

It could be that at the time of the auditing of the respective MDAs the receipts for the said transactions were not provided, but may well be in the possession of the respective institutions. In this regard, he referred to an incident in which an Audit Report disclosed that some Le2.6 billion was not accounted for by the Ministry of Works, but during their investigation, they discovered that they were looking in the wrong places, whilst the money was lying safely in an account at the Bank of Sierra Leone.

He further disclosed that at NASSIT a huge amount said to be unaccounted for is due to the fact that the official who had the password for the machine where the details are inputed, abandoned his post and took with him the password, as a result the figures cannot be reconciled as no one was able to access the data in the machine.

He stressed that issues of 2018 will be immediately dealt with and that they will be holding consultations with Parliament on those issues, especially as the Parliamentary Committee on Accounts should examine and release a report on the said Audit Report before any action is taken on them. He however assured the audience that the ACC is poised to do all in its power to ensure that the missing funds are recovered and if need be, the Persons of Interest charged to Court. Either way, the monies will be retrieved, he stressed.

He urged the media to let the people know that an Audit Report is no longer an opinion, but a fact that should be investigated and the culprits brought to book. On the issue of  the Treasury Single Account, Francis Ben Kaifala said that it involves a combination of accounts under one umbrella, thus defending the issue of the ACC having some 15 Accounts. Those Accounts, he said, were opened by the Accountant General for the Commission and are being regularly viewed by the AG.

He praised Sierra Leoneans for taking keen interest in the way tax payers’ monies being expended and assured them that the ACC will ensure that they are used for the right purposes.

A question and answer session climaxed the Press Briefing.

Mercury, Michael Family Lead “Freetown the Tree Town” Campaign With Over Le 130 Million

Managing Director, Mr Martin Michael

By Theresa Kef Sesay

Mercury International Company SL Ltd does not only make millionaires, but also create the enabling environment for Sierra Leoneans to actualize their dreams.

This was again demonstrated on the 3rd January 2020 at Radisson Blu Hotel, where Mercury International, Radio Mercury and the Michael family pledged a total sum of One Hundred and Forty Million Leones (Le 140,000,000) as a support to the Freetown City Council’s “Freetown The Tree Town Campaign,” which will see a total of 1 million trees planted in the country’s capital city.

Proudly making the said pledge at the official launching ceremony of “The Mayors Ball 2020”, the country’s leading Sports Betting and Lottery Company Managing Director, Mr. Martin Michael, said, as a company, Mercury International will donate One Hundred Million Leones (Le 100,000,000) with a further pledge of Le 30,000,000 (Thirty Million Leones) on behalf of the Michael family.

The sum of 10,000,000 (Ten Million Leones) was also pledged by the Consultant of Radio Mercury, Samuel Valcarcel.

“Pledge to the planting of trees in Freetown and by we-I mean Mercury International and the Michael family- we look forward to seeing our trees grow in the coming years and to see a plush greenery Freetown,” the Managing Director said, adding that: “I am passionate about the environment. As a company, Mercury International is dedicated to the protection of the environment. I was impressed by the passion of both the Minister of Environment and our brilliant Mayor, Yvonne Aki-Sawyer hence we had no hesitation in making substantial support.”

This is not the first time the country’s leading Sports Betting and Lottery Company is demonstrating such patriotic responsibility, in February 2019, Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr together with workers of Freetown City Council (FCC) applauded Mercury International for becoming the first private sector company to support their “Transform Freetown” initiative project.

The Mayor received 30 donated “Street Rubbish Collection Bins” and later received an additional 70 as the company’s support towards the “Transform Freetown” initiative project.

The “Transform Freetown” initiative like the “Freetown The Tree Town Campaign” by the FCC aimed at changing the city

by addressing 11 priority areas, falls under four clusters: Human Development, Healthy Cities, Resilience, and Urban Mobility.

 

To be able to tackle these challenges, three priority sectors – environmental management, revenue mobilization and urban planning and housing – are considered to help achieve this.

Managing Director, Mr. Martin Michael & Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr

African Vision Offers Confectionaries & Cash to Hospitalized Kids

By Amin Kef Sesay

On Monday 6th January 2020, African Vision, a charity organisation, based in the USA, offered an assorted package of confectionaries to children at the Ola During Hospital commonly known as ‘Cottage Hospital’, and at Ward 1 in the Connaught Hospital.

Speaking to the mothers of the sick kids, the President of African Vision, Madam Warrah George and her husband, who is the Vice President, Thomas George, told them that they are a Christ-based charitable organisation, with a vision to care for the needy, less privileged and vulnerable children and women. Being Sierra Leoneans, they thought it fit to start at home. Madam Warrah disclosed to the expectant parents that she was a nurse in her early years in Sierra Leone and has worked with children and the sick. She further stated that God has given her the vision to serve humanity and provide hope for the hopeless. She encouraged them to put their trust in God, as he is the only one that can make them well and change any situation.

She praised the medical staff for their devotion to duty, admonishing them that their reward is from God, as no amount of money can adequately make up for the time and energy they give to the sick. She told the parents looking after their kids at the Ola During Step Down Unit as well as its Observation Unit that they should not lose hope and that God cares for them and their kids and will see to it that they get better.

Matron Francess Pearce of the Ola During Hospital told this medium that the Step Down Unit is where kids that have been taken from the Intensive Care Unit in the facility are stabilized and those that are brought in to the hospital, in cases of emergency, are observed for 24 hours at the Observation Unit. At the Step Down Unit some 40 kids are admitted.

Distribution of packets of biscuits, cookies and other confectionaries were given to the parents, plus some cash in envelopes to enable them purchase some toiletries for the kids. Some of the parents expressed appreciation to the team of African Vision for their kind gesture and prayed for Gods continuous blessings on their lives and endeavours.

This event climaxed the series of donations to vulnerable and less privileged people across the city by the organisation. They started on the 23rd December at the female Correctional Centre at New England, where they offered food items and drinks to some 66 inmates and to other 99 male inmates located at the Special Court at New England, where they are being rehabilitated. On 30th December 2019, the team visited less privileged, homeless and physically challenged people sleeping roughly on the streets, between the Law Courts Building and East End Police Station in Freetown. They too were given food and drinks and words of encouragement and prayers offered for them.

As She Speaks on the Legal Framework on Sexual & Gender based Violence… The Administrator & Registrar General Warns Offenders

Administrator and Registrar General (ARG), Saptieu Saccoh

By Brima Sannoh

The Administrator and Registrar General (ARG), Saptieu Saccoh has said that offenders should rethink their actions against women to avoid spending their lives in jail. She made the statement during a presentation at the Annual Radiance Girls’ Empowerment Conference held in the city of Kenema.

The ARG acknowledged the good work of President Julius Maada Bio and his able wife Fatima in fighting for women’s rights in the country. She noted that the proactive stance by the President in addressing issues affecting women and girls is timely. This, she stressed has helped to uphold the dignity of women and thanked all institutions, organizations and individuals that supported the government in putting laws in place that will protect women and girls.

Dilating on the Legal Framework of Sexual & Gender Based Violence, the legal luminary said the 2019 Sexual Offences Act, which is an amendment to the 2012 has sections that offenders should be mindful of and stressed that the maximum punishment for sexual penetration and rape is life imprisonment.  She said offenders should have a second thought about the punishment that awaits them and described those having sexual affairs with kids as evil and lack conscience.

She explained the different sentencing periods based on age or position of offenders including 5 years, 10 years, 15 years to that life imprisonment.

Lawyer Saccoh also advised religious leaders, family members and chiefs to avoid being stumbling block to sexual offences going to court, saying the fine for such action is Le 10 million or the individual serves a jail term of 1 year or both. She said the court is the only competent place to handle sexual offence matters.

She expressed concern over the action of offenders that have caused so many pains and distress to young girls in society and called on all to respect the dignity of women. She noted that because of the humiliation surrounding sexual violence, women have been calling for the worst punishment for offenders.

Being a female lawyer, Saptieu Saccoh was however careful in juxtaposing the law as against her personal emotions saying the law must be respected. She called for collective effort in the fight against sexual based violence.

The ARG praised Radiance Girls’ Empowerment for organising such a conference, which she said will help to keep people alert and be mindful of their actions.

The Organizer, of the programme, State Counsel Abigail Suwu, thanked the ARG for brilliantly explaining the Legal Framework on Sexual and Gender based Violence to the people of Kenema, saying Lawyer Saptieu Saccoh has shown concern for women and girls’ rights. She said even though this is a festive season and amist the busy schedule of the ARG, she still considered women’s issues paramount, which made her to travel to Kenema to do the presentation.
Lawyer Suwu said the programme was to complement government’s efforts in its fight against cruelty to women and girls.

Over Gay marriage… UMC Bishop Yambasu States Position

Exterior of the First United Methodist Church of Chicago, on West Washington Street in Chicago, seen on Friday, Jan. 3, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/TNS)..

By Theresa Kef

A controversial development within the United Methodist Church in the United States is to debate splitting in two after members and ministers were unable to resolve their differences over gay marriage and gay ordination. Sierra Leone’s United Methodist Church Bishop Yambasu stated a strong position.

He said : “All of us are servants of the church and realise that we are not the primary decision makers on these matters. Instead, we humbly offer to the delegates of the 2020 General Conference the work which we have accomplished in the hopes that it will help heal the harms and conflicts within the body of Christ and free us to be more effective witnesses to God’s Kingdom.”

Church representatives on both sides of the debate over human sexuality have drawn up an eight-page “Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation” which would mean legislation being put to this year’s General Conference to institute formal schism.

Division of assets has been agreed. Assuming it goes through, each Methodist congregation in the denomination, which has more than 13 million members worldwide, with roughly half these in the US, will have to vote if members wish to join the new conservative Methodist church resulting from the split.

The plan will lead to the formation of a new traditionalist Methodist denomination, which will be given $25 million over the next four years by the post-split United Methodist Church.

In a statement, the Church’s Council of Bishops said the action “comes amid heightened tensions in the church over conflicting views related to human sexuality”. An attempt to resolve the issues at a special session of the conference last year ended in failure.

Most support for a progressive direction comes from US Methodists, with the bulk of the opposition from countries such as those in the Global South, religious demographic also reflected in debates in the Anglican Communion on the same issues.

The 16-strong group that drew up the protocol used mediation and dispute resolution techniques before finalising the new plans, with pro-bono advice given by attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who served as special master of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and also as administrator of the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fund.

The protocol states: “The undersigned propose restructuring The United Methodist Church by separation as the best means to resolve our differences, allowing each part of the Church to remain true to its theological understanding, while recognising the dignity, equality, integrity, and respect of every person.”

The protocol is signed by representatives from Europe, Africa, the Philippines and the US.

The bishops said: “An additional $2 million would be allocated for potential additional new Methodist denominations which may emerge from the UMC. Acknowledging the historical role of the Methodist movement in systematic racial violence, exploitation and discrimination, the Protocol would allocate $39 million to ensure there is no disruption in supporting ministries for communities historically marginalised by racism.

“Under the Protocol, conferences and local congregations could vote to separate from the United Methodist Church to affiliate with new Methodist denominations created under the agreement within a certain time frame. Churches wishing to stay within the UMC would not be required to conduct a vote. Provisions exist for entities that choose to separate to retain their assets and liabilities.”

In the meantime, states the Protocol, “all administrative or judicial processes addressing restrictions in the Book of Discipline related to self-avowed practising homosexuals or same-sex weddings shall be held in abeyance.”

The schism plan was greeted with comment from both sides on Twitter. Ibram X Kendi, director of the Anti-Racism Centre in Washington, tweeted: “This makes me recall when Christian denominations split over slavery before emancipation. How do the pro-slavery denominations look today? The same way the so-called ‘traditionalist Methodist’ church looks today and will certainly look 100 years from now.”

Andrew T. Walker, professor at the Southern Baptist Seminary, tweeted: “Though tragic, this is inevitable and necessary. Faithfulness and unfaithfulness cannot coexist. It is not the “traditionalists” who are being schismatics. Those abandoning Scripture, reason, nature, and history are the ones being divisive.”

 

“China will do more for Sierra Leone” Amb. Hu says

Chinese Ambassador Hu Zhangliang

By Foday Moriba Conteh

Chinese Ambassador Hu Zhangliang has told this medium that his country believes in Sierra Leone and will do more to help the country develop. He made these comments after he was on hand to donate vehicles and bikes to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to turn the sod for the construction in the Military.

Amb. Hu said during the FOCAC summit in Beijing, President Bio and his counterpart Xi Jinping had a friendly conversation and it was from that conversation that the Chinese government was able to make donation of fleets of vehicles to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“In order to give foreign VIP guests a diplomatic and dignify welcome, the Government of China through its Embassy has donated 31 fleets of cars to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFAIC) at the Ministry Tower Hill office in Freetown. The fleets include 5 VVIP vehicles, 5 protocol vehicles, 5 official vehicles, 3 Costal buses, 1 Ambulance, 2 supporting cars and 10 VIP police escort motor bikes.”

The Ambassador said handing over the vehicles to Mrs Nabila Tunis who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs was a gesture he was looking forward to and hop that this year the dignitaries that will come will definitely have the status they deserve.

“Mrs Nabila Tunis was very happy to have received these gifts on behalf of the government and she praised China for their continued support. I have promised him that we will not relent but will continue to support Sierra Leone to be a great nation.”

Also,  Amb. Hu with President Bio had turned the sod for the construction of the Officers’ Mess and Single Officers’ Quarters.

During the turning of sod Ambassafor Hu Zhangliang said that the project was the brainchild of President Bio and the result of friendly discussions between the two countries, adding that the gesture was a shining example of the fruitful cooperation between the two countries. He noted that after relentless efforts in communication and coordination at the earlier stages, the project was formally breaking ground.

He also mentioned that the Officers’ Mess and Single Officers’ Quarters would be brand new, the first-class complex, which when completed would go a long way in improving the living conditions of the officers of the RSLAF, bringing them a stronger sense of honour and happiness. He said it would raise the logistics support capabilities and morale of the RSLAF.

The Ambassador averred that the project is a result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Governments of Sierra Leone and the People’s Republic China, PRC, that included military aid grants to the value of 50 million Yuan ($7.2 million) for the construction of a five-storey building comprising 104 rooms with all modern facilities for single officers. Also, the Myohaung Officers’ Mess would be completely demolished and replaced with a brand new and expanded Officers’ Mess of two floors with ultra-modern facilities, according to the agreement.

“I want to assure the president and the people of Sierra Leone that the Local Content would be in effect as more that 80% of the workforce will be Sierra Leoneans. Take a look at all Chinese project ion Sierra Leone and you will see that there are more Sierra Leoneans working than the Chinese nationals because we believe in the laws of the country and we want to help give more employment to the locals.”

President Bio was happy for the project and is still looking for more support from the Chinese government in the future.

Turning of Sod for the military buildings
The design of the new Officers Mess and the Officers quarters
Some of the vehicles donated by Chinese govt.

SLCB Assures Restoration of Hacked Website

By Amin Kef Sesay

Sierra Leoneans woke up on the 6th January 2020 to the disturbing news making the round on social media that one of the country’s commercial banks, the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank’s website has been defaced by Iranian hackers placing  pro-Iranian messages and images on the sites. The Sierra Leone Commercial Bank’s website was displayed as “H4ck3D IRANIAN HACKER” in Google search results. Screenshots posted on Twitter showed a drawing of former IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike on Friday with the words “hacked by Iranian hacker, hacked by shield Iran.”

This revelation sent shock waves among the Bank’s numerous customers, some thinking that their hard earned savings are at risk. However, the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank (SLCB) in a statement stated that it has safely secured its website after an attempted hacking by a group called Shield Iran.

It furthered that immediately after learning about this ugly development the Bank’s IT engineers both at home and abroad ensured the restoration of the website to normalcy and secured the ITC system of the bank without any damage to document and information of clients.

According to a release from the Bank, the slcb.com site is hosted externally by a service provider in the United States and Management believes that the attack was carried out by hackers based in Iran as retaliation to the killing of the Iranian Military General, Qassem Soleimani. According to the bank, assurance is given to its clients that the attempted hacking did not affect any information.

“We hereby assure the public that none of our other systems or services has been affected. Although we do not believe that the bank is a primary target in this attack, we are giving the situation our utmost attention,” the Bank assured.

The Bank also informed that there is no sensitive information stored on the website and therefore no cause for fear.

A spokesperson from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security
Agency, a section of the US Department of Homeland Security,
acknowledged that the hack took place.

“We are aware the website of the Federal Depository Library Program
[FDLP] was defaced with pro-Iranian, anti-US messaging,” the
spokesperson said in a statement. “At this time, there is no
confirmation that this was the action of Iranian state-sponsored
actors. The website was taken offline and is no longer accessible.
CISA (the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) is
monitoring the situation with FDLP and our federal partners.”

Another senior US official noted that the defacement is a small-time
event that was likely carried out by Iranian sympathizers.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned on Friday that one
possible response by Iran against the US could be a cyberattack. It is
unclear whether the hackers had any official status or connection to
Iran.

The hack comes amid increased tensions between the United States and Iran following the assassination of Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in a US strike in Baghdad on January.

Iran has since vowed to take revenge for the assassination, alluding
to potential attack against US assets and interests throughout the
Middle East, in addition to attacking US allies. On its own part, the Government of Sierra Leone in his response came out with a Press Release on the matter saying:

“The attention of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has been drawn to a cyber incident involving the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank (SLCB) official website (www.slcb.com) which occurred on the 5th January 2020. The compromise is attributed to a group claiming to be “Shield Iran”. This incident led to a temporal unavailability of the website that is hosted by a service provider based in the USA. However, this incident had no impact on SLCB operations and online banking applications. The web site is an information-only portal with no direct or indirect access to any banking operation assets. It also holds no sensitive information.

This incident has been thoroughly investigated by a joint technical team from the Ministry of Information and Communications Cyber Unit and the SLCB Cyber Incident Response Team (CIRT) that have taken immediate and appropriate actions to reinforce existing security measures to mitigate any potential impact.

The Cyber Security Unit of the Ministry of Information and Communications would like to inform the general public that stringent measures and modalities have been put in place to prevent future attacks on National Critical Information Infrastructure (NCII) in the country.
The Government would like to assure its citizens that it will continue to put in place the necessary modalities to ensure the continuing protection of all personal and official data at all times.”

Government’s Economic Interventions Must Cut Across Frontiers

Economist Prince Jacob Macauley

By Economist Prince Jacob Macauley

Energy supply is  key  to any economy. Its relevance to economic development cannot be overemphasized and as a matter of importance if Government in general and the Ministry of Energy in particular fail to come up with a stable energy supply in the country, such will definitely affect economic growth in 2020.

It has been established that the true test of any Government is what it does when it is confronted with serious allegations of maladministration, corruption, and governance failures. Again, the true test of any Government is what it does when it is continuously confronted with serious allegations of clear hatred for poor people especially in a country that has been plagued by legislated and institutional backlashes for decades. The Government closed the year 2019 with the celebration of making education fashionable also of rebranding the country’s Tourist sector and strengthening economic growth.

Since the research for the integrity scorecard is still going on around the country it is important to know that we are indebted to the people of Sierra Leone to let them see how our politicians in offices are doing. There is a need to have more banks in the country especially community banks and also to move away from the monopoly of banks there should be more access to finance. These Banks should give out loans to all sectors including women and those should be regulated well.

One major thing we should let the people of this country know in terms of revitalizing the economy of the country is a process which is not going to be achieved instantaneously. To boost the economy is not a sprint race but a marathon race. We also need to look at the trade Sierra Leone is doing with other countries in the world and the government should make sure the country trades within the region.
As a matter of utmost importance Government should explain the country’s position towards the adoption of a new West African currency, the ECO. The Government needs to let the people of this country know if they have worked towards meeting the criteria which were communicated to them by ECOWAS.

NP is set to Roll out Effective Service Delivery this 2020

By Amin Kef Sesay

From what this medium learnt from the Management of one of the most enterprising companies in the country, the National Petroleum –Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd), the company is really set to roll out effective service delivery to its numerous and esteemed customers everywhere it is operating within the country and beyond. It was iterated that even though the company has been highly commended for doing so in the past yet it is more than ever determined to step up its operations with the avowed objective of giving out the best that members of the public really deserve.

Without any iota of exaggeration, forward looking and business savvy Sierra Leoneans are indeed very proud of the National Petroleum Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL-Ltd) which generally is known for short as NP. This pride large emanates from the mere fact that NP is a living testimony of determination, selflessness and hard work on the part of the original founders of the company who said nothing will deter them from achieving their dream of establishing a towering business entity that will serve as a beacon of hope for many.

From its humble beginning, years back, NP-SL has become the leading petroleum business entity in the country with its Filling Stations located in nearly all the districts of the country, marketing various petroleum products which have been rated to be of high quality.

A real manifestation of a result-oriented company that has been generally rated as highly focused on its viability and operations, is its opening of sub-regional branches in neighbouring Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast and The Gambia where there are functional filling stations rendering qualitative service delivery to esteem customers all in a bid to give value for money that definitely brings along utmost satisfaction. Gauging the views of many on this expansionist move on the part of the company most have commended it as one of the few indigenous business entities that have really taken such a remarkable leap ,worthy of emulation. They furthered that it is move that can be categorized as a shining projection of the country’s image to the outside world, telling the story of how Sierra Leoneans can positively make things happen with huge shared benefits to be derived by all and sundry.

One thing which, according to revelation, has helped the company to reach such a height is the proper harnessing of customer care. To ensure that such works effectively it was ensured that Customer Care should be prioritized to an extent that a whole unit was created with contact numbers which members of the public could use to channel all enquiries relating to the company’s activities and operations. This has been maintained in tact to such an extent that it has now become a tradition.

And when customers believe that they do matter and are catered for there is the tendency to become very loyal and compliant. It is an arrangement that is very advantageous to the company in the sense that inputs from customers have served as a roadmap or guide in taking important decisions. For instance, customers’ suggestions have led to the introduction of new petroleum products that could be procured from NP shops, rehabilitation of stations, improved attendance by the company’s attendants and a whole lot of other positive transformations. This bottom to top approach is a business tool that makes room for a liberal way of running the company by bringing customers on board for win-win outcomes.

From what was understood, through thorough research and interviews conducted, the shareholders and Management of the company are very keen on exploring various platforms through which customers could make their views and concerns more relevant as well as heightening customer care.

The company as a matter of fact is renowned for its proper implementation of its Corporate Social Responsibility that it has been steadily rolling out. In a country that is economically recovering from deep scars of bad governance and rampant corruption it is understandable that Government alone cannot undertake various development programmes which is why the contribution of the private sector is very much significant.

NP, indeed, has been on the side of the people of this country through thick and thin, always trying to complement the interventions of Government in fostering development. There are numerous things that the company has done in terms of improving standards of living, some of which they do not even want to mention as if they are showing off but doing so sincerely to better humanity.

When it comes to strict adherence to the country’s Local Content Policy the shareholders and Management of the company have made it a matter of must to get in its employ indigenes and even in cases where expatriates are engaged, local members of staff are given the opportunity to understudy them so that at the end of the day they will imbibe the necessary skills to take over. This is very advantageous in the sense that it helps in providing jobs and to develop a crop of competent individuals which the country needs in its development interventions.

Cooking is inextricably linked to human life or existence, whether for domestic or commercial purposes. Man depends on food for survival, individuals invest in food businesses and the like. Very mindful of the hazardous effects of depleting the environment, by using traditional means of cooking, here specifically talking of making use of wood, charcoal, the company deemed it prudent to introduce NP-Gas which is very fast to ignite, quick to perform, safe and highly convenient. NP Gas, which is in different sizable cylinders could be accessed at the company’s filling stations and authorized dealers, going at affordable prices.

The company has high profiled customers with tight schedules who may have limited time to always wait in queues in order to purchase petroleum products. Besides, some people are not used to havig huge cash in their possession but prefer using smart cards. For these reasons the company went the extra mile to introduce NP Smart Card which customers, those who can afford it, could use to purchase petroleum products. From what was so far gathered all the customers who are using NP Smart Card are well satisfied doing so saying it is very convenient further praising NP for rolling out that initiative.

One thing which cannot be challenged is the fact that NP, not only here in Sierra Leone but in other places where it is functioning, is greatly contributing to revenue accumulation when we think of its timely payment of taxes which Governments are using to fund various development projects.

Regardless, of all the teething challenges that stand in the way of NP, one of which is the depreciation of the Leone to the Dollar, as the company purchases petroleum products in dollars, yet still the company is navigating its way through murky economic waters.

Although all what have been said about the company is really laudable the heart of the matter is that it is not all that is rosy. Like other business entities, the company is grappling with loan recovery from its debtors running into billions of Leones. According to Management of the company it will be in the best interest of the company if those loans are paid so that it will continue to operate vibrantly.

But for now the company is determined to roll out more goodies which will considerable contribute to the socio –economic development of the countries where it is present.

 

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