CTC leads in rice and paint production
Minister of Trade and Industry, Alhaji Usman Boie Kamara, on Monday, October 14, 2013 paid a one day official visit to the facilities of the Commodities Trading Company (CTC) at the Queen Elizabeth II Quay, Cline town, Freetown, where the company bags its imported rice, and the Wellington Industrial Estate where CTC produces the high quality Rainbow Paints and Cement. (Photo: Inside the rice ship)
Addressing management and staff of the company at both sites, Alhaji Usman Boie Kamara showered praise on the General Manager of CTC, Mr. Nasri Halloway, for the good job the company is doing for the people of Sierra Leone by flooding the market with rice, paint, cement, and other products.
Usu Boie at Water Quay
He said it was worthy to note the significance of the three mobile machines the company has bought to bag rice in Sierra Leone, which he said has drastically reduced the cost of rice in the local market.
Halloway noted that these machines can only be found in one other country in the entire sub-region apart from Sierra Leone.
He stated that he was extremely happy that the CTC can boast of employing 250 Sierra Leoneans working in their various facilities.
He explained that the workers have informed him that they are well taken care of and as compared to compared to other institutions.
Minister Boie Kamara explained that he was making the visit because he wanted to be conversant with their activities and constraints for the Ministry to see how best they could help them to survive in their business.
In his statement, General Manager Halloway explained that the bagging machines bag over 3,600 bags of rice per day.
He explained that they provide medical care, housing and transportation allowances for their workers. And, he revealed that they give scholarships to deserving pupils and students in the country.
The General Manager paid tribute to Alhaji Usman Boie Kamara who he said was the first Minister that has ever visited their facilities and to know the constraints they are facing in their business.
He highlighted accessing foreign exchange at the Bank of Sierra Leone as one of their major constraints.
Minister Boie Kamara on conducted tour at paint factory
He also explained that the paint factory at Wellington was burnt down twice during the AFRC/RUF war days, disclosing that they had to spend hundreds of millions of Leones to repair the facilities.
At the paint factory in Wellington
In his remarks, Mr. Mohamed Falchoury, Branch Manager, Wellington Rainbow Paints noted that they produce the best quality paint in the country, adding that their paints are even better than the imported ones.
He maintained that there is no lead in their paint and that they have qualified Chemists who make sure that the proper thing is done at the factory.
In his comments, Colonel Mike Conteh, a member of the CTC Board, expressed his happiness for the visitation of Minister Boie Kamara, which he described as very timely. He revealed that that CTC is an indigenous company which is owned by Sierra Leoneans from Moyamba.
He stated that the workers are well paid and their families too are given free medical treatment and other forms of assistance.
He disclosed that over the last few months the company has done a lot to ensure that the price of rice is very stable in the market, which he said was a plus to the government.
Minister Boie Kamara and CTC General Manager Nasri Halloway
He said they are fully in support of the Government’s ‘Agenda for Prosperity’ by ensuring that the lowest paid workers would be able to buy a bag of rice, pay one’s rent, pay school fees for his/her children, feed hi/hers family and still save something.
He concluded that it was no gain saying that their company is doing much for the country in addition to their corporate social responsibilities, which he said runs into hundreds of millions of Leones.
By Dennis Jones
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