By Amin Kef Sesay
Certain Sierra Leoneans in the diaspora ,particularly some in the United Kingdom, whom this medium exclusively interviewed and discussed with to gauge their perceptions about the operations of the giant petroleum marketing company in the country, the National Petroleum-Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd), spoke in glowing terms about the indigenous petroleum business entity. According to what most of them intimated The Calabash, the company is truly a source of not only pride but one from which inspiration could be drawn.
“One thing that has impressed me so much about the company is the fact that it is one of the few successful indigenous companies in Sierra Leone that has determinedly weathered the storm over the years and such is indeed amazing and inspiring,” Mohamed Wurie Bah, a University student pursuing a course in Britain expressed his candid view adding that he is quite aware of erstwhile business entities established by some Sierra Leoneans, in the forms of partnership and company but within a couple of years went into liquidation. He furthered that in the case of NP-SL Ltd it is quite a different situation as the company had been and is currently doing extremely well.
Abdulai Wai, another Sierra Leonean, who is residing in Scotland with his family, highlighted that in terms of effective customer care, the company cannot be easily matched in that realm. He noted that the Shareholders and Management of NP-SL are individuals who are really business-oriented and are always passionate of giving their numerous customers utmost satisfaction. He convincingly postulated that it is in that regard that the company’s Filling Stations are state of the art structures, suitable built and designed for the sheer purpose of marketing petroleum products.
He furthered that the installation of calibrated pumping machines that are capable of churning out the exact quantity of fuel that a customer demands, displaying the litres and prices, was a step in the right direction. “My brothers to be very frank those calibrated pumping machines are those that are used in modern settings and they truly instil confidence in customers that they are really deriving value for money,” Wai informed this medium during the privileged discussion.
An established entrepreneur, based in South London, but who jets in intermittently, as she has an investment in the country, Alimatu Davies, disclosed that she holds an NP Smart Card which she uses, whenever she is Freetown, to purchase fuel at various NP Filling Stations in the city. “This is a convenient means of procuring fuel as it saves me the time to sometimes rush to the Bank to make withdrawals for the purpose of buying petrol for my jeep and indeed I want to give the company a pat on the back for introducing this smart card. As a matter of fact the use of smart cards to conduct business transactions is what is now in vogue and it is good that the country is catching up with such a current trend,” Alimatu averred.
When this medium put a question across to a prominent Sierra Leonean Economist, who is a lecturer in Birmingham, Paul Saquee, as to what he makes of NP’s stance to make it a laid down policy to strictly offer jobs to indigenes of this country as long as they have the requisite qualifications, he was quick to respond by stating that such a policy is quite in place. “Such a policy on the part of the company is in sync with the Local Content Policy which lays emphasis on making use of local expertise or in other words our local human as well as material resources instead of relying on imported ones,” he explained lucidly adding that such is indeed in consonance with fast tracking overall national development as it makes it possible for the nurturing of innate skills, retaining of financial resources in the country instead of taking them abroad. He highly commended NP-SL for maintaining such a policy over the years.
Paul Saquee dilated further on the fact that one way that one could judge a successful business entity is to look at whether it is developing or not. He said in the case of NP-SL ,the company has been very steadfast in that direction making reference to the opening of branches in different parts of the country including the recent one that was commissioned in Kailahun District. “But more distinctly the expansion of the company with branches in neighbouring Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast and The Gambia is no mean feat on the part of the company,” he succinctly pointed out.
“I like cooking delicious food and always prefer a cooking device that is very fast in terms of performance. I was therefore happy when I was informed by my niece from Kenema that they are using NP Gas at home, explaining how it is very good. I said Wow! I told her that anytime I return home I will go for it,” Mariama Dumbuya, a middle aged nurse based in Bournemouth optimistically told one of our reporters.
She deviated from the discussion on NP Gas and switched over to state that she has heard a lot about the churning out of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility. “I was really impressed to realize that the company was among entities that were at the forefront of closing ranks with the Government by donating One Billion Leones in order to scale up the fight against the spread of the coronavirus. That was good enough apart from other supports that the company has been rendering over the years,” she expressed delight.
Indeed, from all what were said by these Sierra Leoneans in the UK, whom this medium contacted, it could be deduced that indeed the National Petroleum –Sierra Leone Limited is a source of pride and inspiration. Thanks to all those who took their precious time to talk to The Calabash Newspaper. We do appreciate and hope we all Stay Safe.
