By Amin Kef Sesay
The National Petroleum –Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd) is a very ambitious thriving business entity that continues to make the availability of various petroleum products possible and it has been commendably doing so in record time.
The company’s shareholders and Management team are always putting all the necessary modalities and contacts in place in order to avail all its esteemed customers with qualitative and high grade petroleum products to be utilized for different purposes. Even at this crucial moment when the world in general and Sierra Leone in particular are grappling to combat the killer coronavirus, the company is on top of situations and continues to ensure that arrangements are made to give its numerous customers the best in terms of petroleum products.
When it comes to the effective rolling out of the company’s customer care portfolio, NP-SL Ltd is second to none as it has mastered the art so well to such an extent that it is widely recognized as 1st for Customer Care. This is not just a mere or vague decoration as it is proactively widening its customer base by making use of different strategies all in a vain to give utmost satisfaction to many. In a very transparent manner, the company conducts transactions at its various Filling Stations, ensuring that the major and relevant concerns of customers are adequately addressed.
With calibrated pumping machines installed at its various state of the art Filling Stations in the country, the company’s attendants do pump the exact quantity of petrol or diesel requested for, with the pumping machines displaying the prices at the same time. Based on the preciseness of how these machines perform, majority of the company’s customers whom this medium talked with, expressed delight that whenever they purchase fuel at NP Filling Stations they feel good because they are exactly deriving what they are paying for.
A very unique attribute which this premier petroleum marketing company possesses is its stance to give Sierra Leoneans priority when it comes to offering of jobs. Except in rare situations, when foreign expert knowledge is required and sourced, however, the citizens of this country are first considered when it comes to employment opportunities. Putting such a premium on the implementation of the Local Content Policy is helping enormously in terms of reducing unemployment and improving standards of living.
Many have praised NP for making available cookers popularly known as NP Gas which is safe for cooking purposes. These NP Gas cookers are sold at reasonable prices and could be procured at all their filling stations as well as from authorized dealers. At a time like this when it has been recognized that it is advisable, for health reasons, to avoid using firewood or charcoal for cooking purposes the best option could be NP Gas, which is hygienic, clean and quick.
The company also introduced NP Smart Card which could be used to purchase petrol or diesel at Filling Stations as long as the card contains money .Whenever used to procure fuel the amount used to purchase is debited from the smart card and when it is topped-up then the amount is credited. One of the biggest advantages with using this card is that it avails individuals and institutions the opportunity to secure fuel without moving along with money at hand. It is a safe means of conducting transactions, has now become very trending and many are going for it.
Being a business-oriented petroleum marketing entity the success story of the company is vividly evident in the opening of branches in neighbouring Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast and The Gambia. In all these countries the company is doing extremely well and held in high esteem. In these countries, NP is paying huge amount of taxes to the host Governments thereby contributing to the revenue baskets of those countries which are used to fund certain development programmes.
The company has a good business strategy in place whereby trusted entities or customers are permitted to use chits to secure fuel and pay later. Such is very advantageous more so when those entities do not always have readily available cash at hand to be purchasing petroleum products from time to time. This symbiotic relationship with its customers has been paying huge dividends making NP very endearing to all and sundry.
NP-SL Ltd. is doing exceptionally well not only here where it has its root but in the aforementioned countries where its branches are vibrantly doing well.
The company is indeed poised to continue to make petroleum products timely available.
