By Amin Kef Sesay
It has emerged that among petroleum dealers in Sierra Leone, only the National Petroleum Company is being highly commended and respected for its reliability in terms of prompt service delivery.
It is indeed a remarkable feat that NP continues to maintain in order to ensure that there is sufficient high grade petrol, diesel, kerosene and other petroleum products available in the country to avoid shortage.
It is a fact that the National Petroleum (NP) Sierra Leone Limited is held in very high esteem for its progressive and steady provision of petroleum products to its numerous consumers across the country and even in the sub-region.
Indeed, this contention has been proven perfectly correct by this medium after conducting a thorough survey gauging the views of Sierra Leoneans from different walks of life. What came out clearly throughout the period of the survey was that NP is rated as one of the most successful 100% owned indigenous company that has stood the test of time.
“It is of course rare for one to see in this country a purely and result-oriented indigenously-owned company like NP with all its members of staff being Sierra Leoneans which is truly a testimony of commitment and resilience,” posited a seasoned economist who further said that ‘when we talk of optimizing the Local Content Policy, which is a sine qua non to overall national development, then the company should be given a pat on the back.
The selflessness and commitment of the shareholders have made it possible for the company to empower many Sierra Leoneans and at the same time put it at a vantage position to continue to open more filling stations across the country.
The company deals with individuals and various sectors of society, always ensuring that its various petroleum products are available and are sold at affordable prices. This keen symbiotic relationship with its customers has been paying huge dividends, always resulting in a win-win situation, making NP very endearing to all and sundry.
The regulatory institution of the different petroleum companies in the country, Petroleum Directorate, has lauded NP for its efficient service delivery wherever it is operating.
It is a fact that fuel is regarded as a political commodity and based on its availability and non-availability it has the potential of making a government popular or unpopular.
For too long this country has been contending with unemployment; one of the issues which the government should be addressing by creating avenues for young people to be gainfully employed. However, it is not only the prerogative of government to do this as the private sector too could play a vital role in that direction.
NP – Sierra Leone, operating in different parts of the country, has been very instrumental in availing Sierra Leoneans with jobs in various categories and from what was gathered, conditions of service are very satisfactory. Justifiably one can state that NP-SL has been greatly contributing to poverty reduction, putting food on tables which beneficiaries hitherto found tough to achieve.
NP-SL is not only thinking within the confines of maximizing profit but also is also thinking out of the box when performing its demand and supply chain, taking into consideration the harmful health consequences to humans and depletion of the environment by using coal and wood for cooking purposes. This is why NP Sierra Leone thought it fit to provide Sierra Leoneans with a safer and cleaner means of cooking devoid of inhaling carbon-dioxide which is the NP Gas Cooker. These are affordable and readily available in all NP outlets and from their agents.
To keep abreast with latest technological trends the company has availed its customers the opportunity to use Smart Cards for purchasing purpose meaning that buyers could top-up their cards to the tune of any amount which they can use intermittently to procure petroleum products. This has made it convenient for easy transactions to transpire and many are comfortable with that.
When we talk of an indigenous company that has put smiles on the faces of Sierra Leoneans and is making the people of this country very proud, the National Petroleum Company stands taller than the rest! For a company to move beyond the shores of this country and establish branches in Liberia, Guinea, Ivory Coast and The Gambia which are vibrantly operating is no mean feat. Indeed, NP has added another feather to its cap and is being copiously praised for such an accomplishment.
The company’s result-oriented managerial team will definitely and sustainably continue to put NP at the top.
NP-SL Ltd is doing exceptionally well in all the countries it is functioning and indeed there are prospects for further expansion.
It can therefore be justifiably asserted that the National Petroleum Limited is the country’s reliable fuel provider as it always ensures that its stockpile is always at an appreciable level.
It against this background is the reason why NP is believed to be one of the strongest backbones of Sierra Leone’s economy.
For any Government to match up with what is encapsulated in its manifesto in the direction of deepening national development through funding various projects then it must have sources of generating domestic revenue. NP is one conduit through which government past and present had and is deriving revenue as it falls within the category of being one of the largest taxpayers to the National Revenue Authority.
It goes without saying that the National Petroleum Limited-Sierra Leone continues to give confidence to its numerous customers and it is doing so excellently.
