By Amin Kef Sesay
The ubiquitous National Petroleum Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd) has on the 23rd October 2021 commissioned an ultra-modern Filling or Gas Station in Waterloo, in the Western Rural District, along the highway, named 5 Star Gas/Filling Station during a well attended and auspicious event.
Proprietor/Dealer of the new station is an ambitious and result-oriented young man by the name of Mohamed Kuyateh.
Chairman of the occasion, Vandy Bockarie, who is the Sales Manager at NP-SL Ltd, welcomed all for taking time off other schedules to attend the program, intimating that they are all about to witness a very important event which has to do with development.
He informed the audience, especially residents of the community where the new Filling Station is located, that everybody must be prepared always to embrace development simply because it brings with it other offshoot benefits.
“We at NP are very passionate in ensuring that petroleum products are always available for sale to members of the public and with this new station it will remove the burden of going elsewhere just for the purpose of procuring fuel,” he stated and called on all to give the Proprietor/Dealer all the necessary support he needs so that the investment turns out successful and benefits not only him, his family members but all and sundry within the community.
A close ally of the Proprietor/Dealer, Ibrahim Kamara, in giving a brief background of how the Filling Station materialized, informed those in attendance that the Proprietor purchased the piece of land in 2010. He furthered that after a while different people approached him to lease the land to them in order to establish various business enterprises but the Proprietor stiffly refused.
“He always responded to them by saying that he wants to develop the piece of land by doing something on it that will bring immense benefits to the community, improve individual standards of living ,pay taxes to Government and thereby contribute significantly to overall national development,” Ibrahim narrated continuing that today that dream has turned out to become a reality which, he said, will definitely touch many lives.
The Member of Parliament of Constituency 107, where the Gas Station is situated, Hon. Abu Bakarr Fofanah, in his statement thanked all for supporting the Proprietor, whom he called “Awuwah”, for taking the initiative from ground level to completion stage. He described himself as one of the driving forces behind the Proprietor stating that the latter is a very humble and nice person expressing the view that because of his niceness and love for others God will continue to bless him. He prayed for him for God’s protection and enjoined all present to be security personnel of the new station.
Representing the Petroleum Regulatory Agency (PRA) was the Head of Compliance and Standards, Jayah .K. Muana, who stated that the mandate of the PRA is to give licences to individuals who are serious in investing within the petroleum sector, regulate the importation and marketing of petroleum products in the country to be sold at affordable prices.
“We are very keen in ensuring that many people have access to petroleum products which is why we are supporting the establishment of Filling Stations in different places within the country and for now we have issued a temporary license to the Proprietor of this new Filling Station and we wish him well in his future endeavours,”he underscored adding that it is but very much important for safety standards to be uphold and maintained at all times.
Chief Executive Officer of NP-SL Ltd, Ambassador Kobi Walker, extended greetings to all on behalf of the Board, Management and Staff of the petroleum entity. He said the Proprietor is fondly called Awuwah but for them at NP-SL Ltd he is popularly known as 5 Star General. He noted that the Proprietor was able to make such an enviable accomplishment simply because he was born within a petroleum related family revealing how his father was a former employee of NP-SL Ltd.
He told the gathering that the Proprietor has brought development that will have a cascading beneficial effect on all within the community.
In giving a synopsis of how NP-SL was formed he said the 35 Sierra Leoneans who formed the company had a vision of providing opportunities for everyone. He said the trend still continues by the company ensuring that many gain access to their products through entering into business partnerships with well meaning entrepreneurs, building and the commissioning of Filling Stations in different parts of the country. Kobi Walker stated that NP-SL Ltd is a responsible corporate citizen that means well for the nation.
“I want to assure all that as long as NP is here your fuel constraints will become things of the past,” he assured residents of the community.
The high point of the event was the cutting of the tape marking the commissioning of the new business entity followed by a vote of thanks which was done by the Proprietor of the 5 Star Gas Station, Mohamed Kuyateh.
