As Court of Appeal Upholds Conviction… Edward King & Sorieba Kamara to Serve 3 Year Imprisonment

January 22, 2021

By Foday Moriba Conteh

In a Press Release issued on the 20th January, 2021 the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) revealed that the Court of Appeal presided over by Honourable Justice Miatta Maria Samba, JA, Honourable Justice Ansumana Ivan Sesay, JA and Honourable Justice Sulaiman Bah, JA on the 19th January, 2021, upheld the conviction and sentence against Appellants, Edward King And Sorieba Kamara, both former officials of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

It could be recalled that on the 27th February, 2019, Edward King, Acting Director of Information and Sorieba Kamara, Senior Accountant in the Ministry of Information and Communications, were sentenced to three years mandatory Imprisonment, following their conviction at a High Court, Holden in Freetown presided over by Justice Fatmata Bintu Alhadi, for corruption offences.

Their conviction came after they pleaded guilty to the counts of Misappropriation of Public Funds and Public Revenue, contrary to Section 36(1); Failure to Comply with Applicable Procedures and Guidelines Relating to the Management of Public Funds, contrary to Section 48(2)b; and failure to pay tax payable to a public body, contrary to Section 48(1)d of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008, arising from the Two Hundred and Six Million Leones (Le206,000,000) that was said to have been partly misappropriated following the allocation of funds for Commissions of Inquiry sensitizations by the Ministry of Information and Communication.

In the judgment, the three Justices of the Appeals Court dismissed their grounds of appeal and upheld the Trial Judge’s conviction and sentence against both Appellants to a mandatory prison term of three years.

It continued that the Commission appreciates the judgment of the Appeals Court Justices, in upholding the custodial sentence, earlier handed down, as it serves as an effective deterrent to persons who would want to engage in acts of corruption and welcomes such bold move and posture from the Judiciary.

President Bio Undertakes Inspection Tour of Agricultural Machinery

January 22, 2021

By Foday Moriba Conteh

President Julius Maada Bio on Thursday the 21 January 2021 conducted an inspection tour of the stores of the Ministry of Agriculture that is housing about 2,410 agricultural implements and 410 tractors for the 2021 planting season.

In the 2018 New Direction Manifesto of the SLPP, the President emphasised that the overall goal of their agricultural policy is to sustain and diversify the production of food, increase investment in agriculture, develop and implement mechanised commercial farming to transform the traditional subsistence agricultural sector.

At the inspection site, East of Freetown, President Bio said his visit is to show that his Government is serious about improving the agricultural sector and providing the enabling environment for farmers to exhibit and discover their true potentials.

“There has been constant grumbling about the lack of mechanisation in farming over the years. With these machines, it is now left for us as a country to effectively unitise them to increase agricultural productivity for the years ahead,” he noted.

The Acting Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Dr Abubakar Karim, disclosed that the all the 410 tractors and 2,410 farming implements would be distributed across the country by next week to ensure that farmers are ready for the 2021 planting season.

Sierra Leone to Host 1st ECOWAS Parliament Extraordinary Session 2021

January 22, 2021

By Abdul Malik Bangura

At the climax of the 2^nd ordinary session of ECOWAS Parliament held virtually, the Speaker of the Regional Parliament has on Tuesday 19^th January 2021 confirmed that Sierra Leone will be the next destination to host the 1^st ECOWAS Parliament Extraordinary Session 2021.

Rt Honourable Sidie Mohamed Tunis, Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament who himself is a member of the Sierra Leone Parliament representing Constituency 101 in Makpele and Soro Gbaima chiefdoms, Pujehun District, Southern Province of Sierra Leone, said the country is fully ready to host the entire composition of ECOWAS Parliament, comprising of 115 members drawn from all 15 ECOWAS members States.

The 1^st ECOWAS Parliament Extraordinary Session 2021 will be the first parliamentary session to be hosted in Sierra Leone since a Sierra Leonean became head of the Regional Parliament.

Meanwhile, Leader of Sierra Leone delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, Honourable Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah, in his remarks said he is fully ready to welcome the Parliament here in Sierra Leone. As a leader of the delegation of Sierra Leone to the ECOWAS Parliament, he is the Chief-Host of the delegation and must ensure that the session is properly conducted within the standards of ECOWAS.

The ECOWAS Parliament is composed of 115 seats from each of the 15 Members States. States have a guaranteed minimum of five seats. The remaining seats are shared on the basis of population. Consequently, Nigeria has 35 seats, Ghana 8 seats, Cote d’Ivoire 7 seats, while Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal have 6 seats each. The others – Benin, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo have 5 seats each.

The ECOWAS Parliament, also known as the Community Parliament, is a forum for dialogue, consultation and consensus for representatives of the people of West Africa with the aim of promoting integration.

It is established under Article 6 and 13 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993. The Protocol relating to the Parliament was signed in Abuja on 6th August, 1994 and entered into force in 14th March, 2002. It provides for the structure, composition, competence and other matters relating to the Parliament.

At its 25th session held in Dakar, Senegal on the 21st and 22nd December, 2001 the Authority of Heads of State and Government decided that Abuja should be the headquarters of the Parliament.

Normally, based on directives from the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, the Parliament chooses a venue to convey their meetings. Against this backdrop, the Speaker His Excellency Sidie Mohamed Tunis has confirmed Sierra Leone to host the 1^st ECOWAS Parliament Extraordinary Session 2021.

UN Country Team Hails SLP

January 22, 2021

By Amin Kef Sesay

On Tuesday 19th January 2020 the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Sierra Leone, led by Dr. Babatunde A. Ahomsi, visited the Inspector General of Police (IGP), at his George Street office at Police Headquarters in Freetown.

During the meeting with the IGP, Dr. Babatunde acknowledged and commended the collaboration which the UNCT has maintained with the Sierra Leone Police, which include: the working relationship in some of the UN projects concerned with Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), giving support to SGBV survivors through one-stop centers such as, providing legal support to SGBV victims and preventing conflicts in several parts of the country.

Dr. Babatunde maintained that UNCT appreciates the role of the SLP especially on its participation in peacekeeping missions around the world. He also commended the SLP for its support to the United Nations Department for Safety and Security through their integrated night patrols, and the provision of armed personnel during the period of curfew in Sierra Leone.

He praised the quick response of the armed wing of the SLP for the prompt security provision for its staff, their premises /residences and medical emergencies. He further applauded the professionalism displayed by security personnel during the visit of the UN Deputy Secretary General and her delegation to Sierra Leone in November 2020. On a final note, he observed that the UN in Sierra Leone sees the SLP as an important partner to support the Government and people of Sierra Leone in the quest to recover from the impact of COVID-19 and get back on track of becoming a middle-income country by 2035.

“I am willing to further strengthen the UN’s already healthy and harmonious relationship with the SLP,” he concluded.

Responding to the team, the Inspector General of Police appreciated Dr. Babatunde and his entourage and expressed his willingness on behalf of the SLP to work with the United Nations Country Team. He emphasized on the need for team work and institutional collaboration between the two organizations.

A Case for the US Government… Gibril Bangura Must Face Justice

January 22, 2021

By Amin Kef Sesay

It indeed came as a utter surprise and then a total shock to the Management and Staff of The Calabash Newspaper to learn that a notorious self-styled dissident living abroad, Gibril Bangura, owning the telephone number +1(614)6577666 is allegedly in the habit of using this newspaper to do photo-shop paste-ups portraying important personalities in an unglamorous manner on the alleged front page of our newspaper and share the defaming front page on different WhatsApp platforms.

He has allegedly done this thrice now with the first portraying the Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Francis Ben Kaifala in a very bad light as a front page lead “ACC Boss Defend Rogue Mendes”, secondly on the 18^th January 2021 also changing our front page lead story from “CSOs Urge Parliament to Act Decisively on 2019 Audit Report” to “Abbas Bundu The Father of Corruption” maliciously portraying the Honourable Speaker of Parliament, Dr. Abass Bundu in a very bad light and thirdly the Vice President, Dr. Juldeh Jalloh changing our caption to his “Bio Accused Juldeh of Leaking His Family Corruption to the Press”.

We seriously want to make it abundantly and categorically clear that such malicious front page banner headlines are not coming from this reputable, respected public information medium that subscribes to the principle of respect for the privacy of others but as been mentioned a certain evil minded individual who is bent on a calculated ploy to bring the good name of The Calabash Newspaper to disrepute. As a matter of fact he will not succeed in achieving his aim as we are professionally savvy and determined to counter and expose their nefarious actions.

It is simple to know, the real and fake, as comparisons could be easily made from what we actually published and what is fake.

At this juncture The Calabash Management wants all and sundry to know that it is dissociating itself completely from such disgraceful gutter journalism which can only be interpreted as botched attempts to discredit this trustworthy news medium.

This medium has no axe to grind with the Honourable Speaker of Parliament, Dr. Abass Bundu, the ACC Commissioner Francis Ben Kaifala and the Vice President, Dr. Juldeh Jalloh.

As a matter of fact we do hold them in high esteem as important State figures which do not necessarily mean that if they err in the discharge of their official duties we will not report such as long as we have ascertained that our information is factual.

This individual who is engaged in this nefarious action of misrepresenting our real front page headlines is just exposing his nakedness as he is bent on sowing seeds of discord that could be inimical to national cohesion.

He is a mere coward who is using uncouth clandestine methods to promote his failed political agenda. He is not a real patriot but rather a disorganized mouthpiece of a political party using unconventional methods to push his propaganda and hidden agenda taking advantage of the gullibility of some of the citizenry.

Frankly, the actions of this saboteur has once more brought to the fore how certain people can manipulatively use technology and by extension the social media for all the wrong reasons. But doing so is uncalled for and totally out of context because it just shows how evil minded some people are who are always wishing doom for others and the nation as a whole.

It is the inalienable right of any citizen to pledge allegiance to any political party of his or her choice. But what is expected is to support one’s political party responsibly and refrain from using uncouth methods or channels to oppose.

Unfortunately, the new phenomenon has been for some, especially certain Sierra Leoneans living in the diaspora, to incessantly rain all sort of invectives and use all sort of lies against perceived political opponents.

In as much as we were shocked, however, we remain unperturbed as we are of the conviction that this news medium is a professional news entity that has etched its name in the sands of time. We will not be derailed from accurately informing, educating and entertaining the populace in and out of this country with factual news.

From what was understood, the Police have stated that it had long placed an international arrest warrant for these political miscreants, one of which is Gibril Bangura, who are using the social media to unsuccessfully assassinate the characters of important personalities in this country. For sure their days are numbered.

Anybody who wants to get information about or from The Calabash Newspaper can subscribe to: www.thecalabashnewspaper.com/ The Calabash Newspaper/Facebook.

Deputy Ambassador To Switzerland Calls for Abolishment of Kafala System in Lebanon

January 22, 2021

By Theresa Kef Sesay

On Tuesday the 19th January, 2021 at the ongoing 37th Session of the Universal Periodic Review, the Deputy Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, His Excellency, Samuel U.B. Saffa Esq, has called on the Lebanon Government to tackle the menace of children in armed violence, women’s rights, among other things.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a state driven process which involves a review of the human rights of all UN Member States- The ultimate aim of this mechanism is to improve the human rights situation in all countries and address human right violations wherever they occur.

President Julius Maada Bio believes that the protection of human rights is an antidote to injustice. Therefore, the “New Direction Government as a matter of expediency undertook an overhaul of the Human Rights Commission and restore sanity in the Judiciary by scaling up the justice delivery in the country with a view to restoring public confidence in its independence and impartiality and ensure that justice is accessible and affordable for all.

His Excellency, Samuel Saffa, delivering Sierra Leone’s statement in the review of Lebanon, commended the country for establishing a National Human Rights Commission including the Committee for the Prevention of Torture.

Ambassador Saffa recalled and shared the Government of Sierra Leone`s grief following the devastation of the Beirut port explosion in August, 2020, that took the lives of over 200 people with thousands injured and an estimated 300,000 people homeless.

“Sierra Leone notes with appreciation Lebanon`s cooperation with the human rights mechanisms with specific reference to the submission of its periodic reports to treaty bodies and special procedure mandate holders,” he noted.

Sierra Leone recommended to the Government of Lebanon to strengthen the implementation of the national plan of action to prevent and address the involvement of children in armed violence, amend the nationality law to allow women to transfer their nationality to their children and abolish the kafala system and include domestic workers in their labour laws among other things.

It should be noted that “the kafala” is monitoring or sponsorship mechanism established between migrant workers and their sponsors, or kafeel.
It is a system common in most Gulf States. By this system, the State grants permit to its citizens and companies to recruit or employ foreign labourers or migrant workers.

One of the disadvantages of the system is that it is a policy that is administered by the Interior Ministry as opposed to the Labour Ministry and as such migrants workers are unprotected and vulnerable to exploitation.

“Sierra Leone wishes Lebanon success with the implementation of the recommendations it receives during its third UPR cycle,” Deputy Permanent Representative Saffa concluded.

Over Demeaning Peace and Conflict Graduates… CRPYA Schools Sidi Yahya Tunis

January 22, 2021

Acting National Publicity Secretary of All People’s Congress (APC) Party, Sidi Yahya Tunis & Executive Director, Center for Research, Peace and Youth Affairs-Sierra Leone (CRYPA-SL) Abdul Kpaka

By Foday Moriba Conteh

During a Press Conference convened by the Center for Research, Peace and Youth Affairs-Sierra Leone (CRYPA-SL) on Wednesday 20^th January 2021 at its Old Railway Line Office, Tengbeh Town in Freetown, the Executive Director, Abdul Kpaka of the organization vehemently refuted a statement made by the Acting National Publicity Secretary of All People’s Congress (APC) Party, Sidi Yahya Tunis’s on AYV TV (AYV on Sunday) on the 3^rd January 2021, asserting that “nobody needs peace and conflict graduates”.

According to Kpaka the above statement is totally misleading, false and demeaning to peace and conflict graduates and all those who have worked tirelessly to develop the said curriculum in the academia. He also maintained that it was an unfortunate statement especially when Peace and Conflict Studies serve as a professional tool for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts adding that the above statement also depicts deep disrespect for peace and conflict institutions in Sierra Leone and beyond, the United Nations inclusive.

Abdul Kpaka pointed out that the meaning of Peace is deeper than what most people perceive, and that ignorance and lack of research has led to so many misconceptions about the concept of peace; especially peace and conflict as an academic discipline, further explaining that studying peace without conflict is baseless as the study of peace is principally geared towards the prevention and management of conflict and the attainment of sustainable peace and human security.

He revealed that CRPYA, being a Peace promoting NGO, deemed it fit to react to the unfortunate statement made by Sidi Yahya Tunis, with a view to address his blatant misconception of peace and conflict studies and as well prevent the public from being misled.

Kpaka elucidated that Peace, Conflict and its related matters occupy the center stage of world discourse than any other phenomenon in this 21^st century. He stated that after the end of World War II in 1945 new wars started emerging (intra State conflicts) where people within States rose and rebelled against their leaders or Governments because they failed to provide for their needs.

He described Peace and Conflict as a Social Science discipline that focuses on the analysis of violent and nonviolent conflicts, drawing from numerous fields such as Law, Political Science, Media Studies, Sociology, Chemistry, Economics, History, Theology among others, furthering that Peace and Conflict is both a pedagogical and a research based discipline and that its intent is to probe into issues of structural and physical violence, ensure the prevalence of human security and sustenance of positive peace rather than negative peace.

Kpaka noted that Positive Peace unlike Negative Peace do not only consider the absence of physical violence or the silence of the guns as peace, rather, it focuses on the structures, such as Ministries, Departments and Agencies, NGOs and CSOs, humanitarian organizations, the Fourth Estate and all other agencies that sum up what constitute State and global governance.

He revealed that the many conventions and treaties which the whole world works with today are creative ideas of peace and conflict experts and other professionals, adding that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which later evolved into Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serves as guidelines and timetable for the whole world and it must interest all to know that the current SDGs are typical conflict prevention mechanisms and human security pillars which aim at maintaining positive peace globally.

The Executive Director said Peace and Conflict being a hybrid discipline constitute unique and universally useful modules such as Governance and Democracy, Human Rights and Good Governance, Peace Education, Peace Studies, International Humanitarian Law, International Law, Media and Peace Building, Gender and Development Studies, Conflict Resolution, Human Security, etc.

He disclosed that Peace and Conflict Studies is offered in more than 4000 universities, colleges and institutes around the world and it has job opportunities in State governance, project management, the media, international and global architecture; UN, regional, and sub-regional organizations, in the academia, industries, security sector and the Judiciary.

Kpaka furthered that from all indication, Tunis’ assertion that “no body needs peace and conflict graduates” is false, baseless and unfounded and that for such a statement to come from the mouthpiece of a responsible political party like APC is unfortunate to say the least.

“We at CRPYA view such statement as one that has the propensity to derail the efforts made by hundreds of graduates who have acquired a degree or certificate in the said field. It will also undermine the good work of the University of Sierra Leone, Milton Margai University, Njala University and other institutions in Sierra Leone offering Peace and Conflict Studies,” he stated.

He highlighted that the attack on Peace and Conflict Studies has been consistent by politicians and notable among those who have once opposed it are Alpha Khan, former Information and Political Affairs Minister, Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, former flagbearer of NGC party and now Sidi Yayah Tunis the National Publicity Secretary for the party APC and that whatever their intentions are they can’t justify but they strongly demand that it must be stopped immediately.

Kpaka says they are demanding that the APC Publicity Secretary, Sidi Tunis, to immediately withdraw his unfortunate statement and tender an unreserved apology to all Peace and Conflict Studies graduates as well as academic institutions offering Peace and Conflict Studies.

“We will end by saying that opposing Peace and Conflict Studies or anything that has to do with peace is equivalent to discrediting and attempting to destroy the very basis on which society is built,” he ended.

Dr Turad Senessie… Land Administration Needs Proper Enforcement

January 22, 2021

By Amin Kef Sesay

Can you send a thief to catch a thief? The reason why since the 1970s land administration in the Western Area in particular has been very problematic is because very senior Ministry of Lands officials who know where all public lands lie work actively with land grabbers and surveyors to identify, expropriate and sell those lands to the highest bidder; in some instances to several buyers causing confusion, fights and lengthy expensive litigation in courts.

Knowing that given how deeply corrupt the Ministry of Lands is, Dr Turad Senessie in going forward has to tread carefully, because those he would depend on to reform the Lands Ministry which Dr Sandy unsuccessfully tried to do are the real enemies of reform and progress in that Ministry.

As such, developing an effective land administration system in both the western area and the provinces is very challenging. However, given how important land is for various human reasons, placing land rights at the heart of development makes economic sense.

For this to be done transparently, accountably and effectively requires financial resources and trained personnel – both of which are in short supply in the Ministry of Lands.

The biggest problem with effective land administration since time immemorial has been that customary land administration arrangements and statutory systems are disconnected and reconciling the two in a manner that serves the rural poor and land users generally is very difficult as Dr Sandy very well knows.

Certainly, since the 1970s, weak land administration contributes to use of land for patronage purposes.

The reason why an effective Land Administration System is crucially important for Sierra Leone is that if the necessary actions are not taken now future generations would have none left to call their own as currently there is a frenzy to own and sell land by all kinds of speculators and unscrupulous persons like the so-called Chief Kolenten at New Camp, Grafton.

Land administration is a general term for the processes of land rights’ recognition, land use planning, land taxation and developing accurate land information. It is central to the effective management of land and therefore critical to development.

Land administration includes: the allocation of rights to land; the setting of land boundaries; the transfer of land rights through sale, lease, loan, gift or inheritance; and the adjudication of land disputes.

It includes enforcement of land-use regulations and land valuation. Land administration can be applied through formal (statutory) or informal (customary) land tenure rules.

Inadequate land administration can lead to many problems. Without effective land registries—which provide a record of deeds or title documents—land parcels can be allocated to multiple people, resulting in conflict and insecure tenure.

Without effective conflict resolution mechanisms, disputes can escalate into civil unrest and can turn violent. And without effective land-use planning, land will not be put to its most efficient uses.

As such, currently the country’s Land Administration system does not allow for effective and successful problem resolution as the National Land Policy has not been implemented.

Many existing land laws and regulations are outdated and do not meet modern requirements. Property unit formation and survey system is manual, land survey technologies are outdated and inaccurate, number of specialists is insufficient and the existing specialists do not meet the required qualifications.

Currently, only a tiny percentage of all kind of lands in the rural and urban areas are mapped and recorded.

There is no unified and reliable system for Land data registration and storage. Property management procedures are long, unreliable (many decisions are verbal), expensive and do not guarantee the protection of the rights of the property user and/or owner.

The new National Lands Policy of Sierra Leone which needs urgent activation aspires to gradually formalize land transactions while respecting the customary systems. But for now, mandatory land transaction recording and registration could be an effective step towards the implementation of land related policy.

Alongside this, communication and sensitization campaigns should be carried out to avoid situations where ignorance of the requirement to register land on a first served basis may violate the rights of genuine land owners because their land could be registered to somebody more familiar with the system.

The constitutional provisions in Sierra Leone stipulate that the rights holders are guaranteed a right to access the justice system to remedy a breach, however the judicial system is not reliable, and may not be accessible or may not necessarily result in timely and just decisions.

As He Appeals for Shared Solidarity… VP Juldeh Jalloh Entreats Lecturers to Call Off Strike Action

January 22, 2021

By Amin Kef Sesay

Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, the Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, has appealed for a ‘national shared solidarity’ while calling on lecturers to return to the classrooms and resume lectures as their welfare concerns are being addressed.

On Tuesday January 19, heads and lecturers from the various higher and technical public education institutions across Sierra Leone converged at Fourah Bay College (FBC) on the invitation of the Vice President amidst a strike action that has left the universities and technical institutions shut down.

Following a day-long dialogue, the protesting lecturers representatives agreed to summon a meeting of their general membership to discuss and consider the fruitful resolutions that emanated from the engagement.

Consequently, the lecturers are expected to soon return to the classrooms following the establishment of a 14-man committee comprising senior Government functionaries and representatives of the aggrieved striking lecturers.

The committee consisting Minister of State in the Office of the Vice President, Ministries of Labour, Finance, Technical and Higher Education, Council of Vice Chancellors and Principals, Civil Society, Tertiary Education Commission, representatives from the various Academic Staff Associations (ASA) and Pro-Chancellors is scheduled to resume work next Tuesday.

The academic staff associations of the nation’s public universities were provided the platform to openly and frankly engage the Government of Sierra Leone through the Vice President in a bid to map out a sustainable and clearly defined roadmap to address the plethora of concerns from the lecturers that have been left unaddressed for at least a decade.

In his statement, the VP pointed out that the Government prioritises the welfare of the lecturers as evident in the inclusion of 25% salary increment in the 2021 budget. This, he said, is in addition to countless unprecedented interventions including pumping of billions of Leones over the years towards salaries, subventions and other supports.

The Government, he said, has also increased the public universities staff strength from 2,844 in 2019 to 3,189 by the end of 2020.

VP Jalloh reminded the lecturers of the consistency on the part of Government to pay their salaries on time since the brand new direction Government took over power.

He re-echoed that it is Government’s responsibility to ensure viable accountability systems at public institutions while calling on the university administrations to judiciously utilise Government subventions for the growth of the institutions.

“This Government has undoubtedly showcased itself as a Government of human capital development,” he pointed out, while assuring the lecturers that they form a major part of the President’s development agenda.

He disclosed that modalities are well advanced to establish the game changer education development fund that will support infrastructural transformation and access to funds for research purposes among other supports.

He appealed to the lecturers to return to the classrooms while their welfare concerns are being addressed, reminding them that we are at an extra ordinary period with the country losing some 1.5 Trillion Leones in 2020 due to Covid-19.

On his part, the Minister of Labour, Alpha Timbo described the concerns of the lecturers as legitimate.

According to him, it is almost ten (10) years now since the conditions of service of lecturers were last reviewed in 2011.

The Minister also pointed out that the lecturers should have started this fight for their rights in 2013, 2016 ad 2019 when fresh reviews were due.

He, however, assured them that despite the advocacy delay, the brand new direction government is committed to fixing the problems.

Earlier, President of Academic Staff Association, Fourah Bay College (FBC), Dr. Williette James highlighted serious and critical welfare concerns that have been hampering the growth of the University for several decades.

NP-SL’s Castrol Oil Loyalty Promo Commences This February

January 22, 2021

By Amin Kef Sesay

The National Petroleum Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd) is one of the most successful indigenous business entities in Sierra Leone that has really stood the test of time and weathered various storms along the way. It is an incontrovertible fact that the company has created a niche for itself as one business entity that puts premium on enhancing customer care for which it has gained the accolade: 1^st for Customer Care.

Indeed, when cognisance is taken of the fact that Management of the company is very keen on availing its numerous customers qualitative petroleum products then it is but fitting to state that the company is consciously working towards giving optimal satisfaction to all and sundry.

NP-SL Ltd is exclusively marketing one of the most cherished lubricants, which is Castrol Motor Oil, proven to be very good for automobiles, bikes and is particularly a well-known lubricant in Sierra Leone amongst motorists and commercial users.

It is a well-recognized product amongst discernible consumers since the Castrol brand is about passion, excitement and performance.

Though it is a popular brand, however, Management of the company thought it timely to make more people gain awareness of the various categories of Castrol Oil that the company is marketing.

It is against such a backdrop that the NP-SL Management decided that starting this February, the company will activate a loyalty promotion as one of its yearly activities and to celebrate the holidays by offering its esteemed customers the chance to win different prizes.

From the starting of the month, every time a customer buys a 5L Castrol GTX, he or she, will have a chance to dip and draw from a container filled with hidden prizes in the form of a folded slip.

As far as the Management of NP-SL Ltd is concerned, brand awareness and product visibility are key drivers in any marketing institution and therefore as part of its 2020 marketing activity plan, activation of those drivers is paramount.

Again, it is in that regard that high street stores and NP forecourts will be sale materials to create brand awareness and visibility.

Indeed, it must be reiterated that each time customers buy 5L Castrol engine oil they will dip their hands in a container and then draw folded slips. The customers will open the slips and reveal prizes or a ‘sorry buy more GTX’ on the slip.

The categories of the draw are as follows: GTX 25W50 = 1 dip & draw, GTX 20W50 = 2 dips & draw, GTX DIESEL = 2 dips & draw.

After revealing the prizes the customers will leave their details and shall be contacted by the Lubricants Sales Supervisor of NP-SL Ltd.

The Lubricants Sales Supervisor will in turn notify the winners and they will pick up their prizes at the office.

Customers who do not win prizes will be compensated with Castrol GTX bumper stickers or keyrings. This is to keep the customers loyal and identify themselves with the premium brand.

The compensation is as follows: GTX 25W50 = 1 sticker, GTX 20W50 = 1 sticker & 1 keyring, GTX DIESEL = 2 stickers & 1 keyring.

It must be known that the promotion and offers will run for a three-week period in this year, 2021.

The promotional items are: Led Light, Normal cap, Funnels, Lip balm, Keyring, Sticker, Desk Clock, Flask, File and Mug.

In actual fact, one thing for which the company is highly respected for is its seriousness in deepening of the country’s Local Content Policy as vividly evident in giving exceptional preference to employing indigenes contrary to bringing in foreign expatriates to execute certain tasks.

This laid down policy that is strictly implemented has created room for the employment of Sierra Leoneans who have the requisite qualifications and skills giving them the opportunity to take care of personal responsibilities.

“I cannot find words to express how delighted I am as I can proudly say that NP-SL has changed my life completely since I was employed by the company,” one of the workers at NP Cotton Tree joyfully intimated The Calabash when this medium was out on its perception survey.

“As far as I have assessed in this country it is only NP-SL Ltd that has such a pragmatic stance of maintaining a policy that gives job preferential treatments to Sierra Leoneans and I have great respect for the indigenous company,” Mohamed Wai, a Social Commentator underscored.

With the introduction of NP Smart Card, which has gone viral, customers can now secure fuel at ease. The Card can be credited with money and the amount of money utilized to buy fuel is debited after every transaction. With the use of NP Smart Card, customers are saved the hassle of having to always move with physical cash in their possession in order to purchase fuel and indeed there are times when one may not have time to rush to the bank to make withdrawals. Customers, who are holders and users of NP Smart Card, are at the vantage position to properly budget, through the amount that is contained in the card to buy fuel, during a considerable period of time, say a week or a month. Indeed, NP Smart Card has become trending.

In order to ensure that their customers derive value for money, it was thought prudent on the part of Shareholders and Management to make use of state of the art and highly modernized calibrated pumping machines which were installed at the company’s different Filling Stations capable of pumping the exact quantity of fuel, be it petrol or diesel, that a particular customer requested for.

This fine move by the company has helped to instil confidence among customers that they are really dealing with a very transparent business entity and getting what they are paying for. This singular business strategy has got many glued to a petroleum company that is considered to be marketing the best of petroleum products which include petrol, diesel, gas and high grade lubricants.

The company also markets NP Gas which is a cooking device that is manufactured in different cylinder sizes and sold at the company’s Filling Stations across the country. It can be easily refilled with gas, is said to be non-hazardous to the health of individuals and easy to operate. Its performance has been rated high and many are indeed going for it.

One yardstick that could be used to assess the potency and vibrancy of a company is how well it is entrenched or established. With regards NP-SL Ltd, one can actually see that the company, over the years, has grown by leaps and bounds as seen in its opening of branches in neighbouring Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast and The Gambia. All these NP branches, within the sub-region, are functioning very efficiently and contributing immensely towards the socio-economic development of those host countries. Through their operations, the company is paying taxes to the various Governments and indirectly boosting the revenue bases of those countries to roll out different development programs.

From all that have been said so far, it could be argued with all amount of certainty that NP-SL Ltd is indeed a highly successful and very competitive petroleum company that continues to stand tall within the business landscape of this country. And from the look of things it is poised to do more.