Seconds after it was officially launched, Baba Drilling and Exploration Company has consented to drill a borehole within Parliament so that it would have access to water flowing through pipes as water is not regular within that vicinity.
It is the company’s maiden corporate social responsibility coming from a request made by the City Father, Mayor Bode Gibson, who served as Chairman of the launching.
He told the gathering that “our capital City of Freetown was built on the sea shore and it is immediately surrounded by high hills and mountains. This geographic location disadvantages residents while accessing safe drinking water.”
Mayor Gibson went on, “the Guma Valley dam constructed in 1960 to supply pipe-borne water to an estimated population of 500,000 inhabitants is now over stretched and inadequate,” stressing “today, Freetown is home to one-third of the country’s population.”
However, he said, in order to adequately address the water supply problem, we need to improve on the existing structures or introduce new technologies, emphasising that “we are informed that our country has a pool of underground water,” but the difficult to access it is largely due to expertise and lack of logistical support.
Efforts made so far, he said, by drilling companies have proved to be inadequate, so he therefore urged Baba Drilling and Exploration Company to make the difference.
Formally launching the company, the Minister of Water Resources, Sam Maligie, noted that “my technical team assures me that underground water supply is reliable and we intend to pursue in line with proper geo-physical data of our ground water sources.
He assured the investors that Sierra Leone has the potential to make business for them, pointing out that Baba Drilling has assured his Ministry of providing technical backstopping and a training ground for young water technicians and engineers.
Provision of safe drinking water supply is urgent, he stressed, adding “we do not need lot of speeches and meetings; we want water now and desperately needed it.” He noted further that “our country has just emerged from the grips of ebola and we want to put that behind us with better and sustainable public services.
Giving an overview of the company, Manoj Kumar revealed that “we at Baba Drilling and Exploration Company are proud to say we have accepted one of the most difficult challenges of providing water. We are here with 30 years of varied and vast experience to provide best solutions to find enough water to the people of Africa through various means of drilling.”
He went on “we have the best of the best geologists, hydrologists, advance technological equipment and experienced work force to provide water to the people of Africa,” as they came in after a remarkable spell in Zambia and growing fast in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Wednesday November 25, 2015
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