TheSierra Leone Brewery Limited on Tuesday 15th November 2022 celebrated its 60th Anniversary of successful operations with massive community empowerment in a conducive hall at the Wellington Industrial Estate.

At the commencement of the well-programmed event, the industrious but soft-spoken Corporate Affairs Manager, Foday Daboh expressed thanks and appreciation to members of the Public for honoring the invitation. He also appreciated them for being part of the SLBL family.

Daboh recognized community members for protecting Sierra Leone Brewery Ltd in the community for the past 60 years. The astute Corporate Affairs Manager updated that SLBL specifically started operations in Sierra Leone on the 5th of November 1962 and beer was the first product they produced.

As he progressed, he registered that;
“Most of our business had been shut down due to lack of the supply chain activities of the World. We have survived, and others have left but we still maintain the status and hope to sustain business here though it is not easy we have still stood the test of time. We shall continue to stand tall; we shall continue to maintain our resilience as a company because we have a strong team of staff in the company”.

“We have those who wake up early in the morning to build strong brands; those who wake up to ensure that quality brands are built here; those who wake up in the morning to ensure trucks are loaded and dispatched to the market; those who wake up to ensure that our products get to the consumers and those of us in the Media who sell the activities of SLBL”.

“All of you have been part of the History of SLBL. We have a series of activities we are lining up. We are expecting our Marketing Manager, as she is going to explain some of the activities that will be undertaken to mark the 60th Anniversary”.

First, of the activities, we undertook like I said we have strong people that would always ensure we have strong brands, people who ensure that trucks are loaded here. We started the celebrations initially with what we called the Truth and Togetherness aspect”.

We will have it within the premises here, some members of the public are to be invited but it would be mainly organized for the employees of SLBL”. “Having a very big party without a strong and gentle SLBL we would not have been here for 60 years. So we thought it wise that the celebrations should start at 4 and it started a month or two ago. And if we have decided to continue with existence we must have a strong customer base and loyal customers who had been with us for the past 60 years. This is the more reason why we have decided to line up activities that will attract and reward our customers”.

“We are going to organize a beer Festival which we have already started last weekend. I know most of you have seen the flyers we had last weekend but I will reserve that for our Marketing Manager when she comes, and also for you to stay in one location for 60 years, you must have good neighbors. People always say when something happens to you in your house good neighbors will come first before family members who are far away”.

“We witnessed a couple of incidences in our country during which our immediate neighbors have been watching this company. We never had a situation where our neighbors came and broke into the company, but we have seen that in other countries. That is the more reason why we have decided not to celebrate alone but rather need to celebrate with our neighbors, and that is the reason why all of you are seeing these beautiful trophies and jerseys here”.

“Football brings people together, we all saw the history which the Ivorian Team player Didier Drogba made when Ivory Coast had a Civil War. He took Football to Ivory Coast and preached peace to the people to drop their guns and embrace each other. So Football brought them together and that is why we are using Football to bring our community people closer to us”.

Daboh progressed by assuring the community people that they are part of the History of SLBL and that they will continue to be part of the SLBL family. He said they choose this year’s theme by organizing a Community Football Gala titled “True and Togetherness Football Gala”.

The Corporate Affairs Manager revealed to Members of the Fourth Estate that four(4) immediate communities were selected to compete in the said Gala. He enunciated the Matorkoh Community, Taylor Street Community, Estate Community, and the Peak Cock Farm Community.

In a pleasant mood, Foday exclaimed that the celebrations commenced on Tuesday 15th November 2022 as it was the Official launching of the 60th Anniversary. He emphasized that the Company have been operating within the Wellington Industrial Estate for 60 years because they have people who have been watching and looking after them for the past 60 years.

He assured that four(4) teams are going to participate starting Wednesday 16th November 2022 and it is a knockout Gala and instructed that the hardworking Corporate Affairs Officer, Unisa should read the fixtures later and the four(4) communities will be branded. He suggested and implemented that before the round table session is concluded, he urged each community to ballot and play with the brand they get and later distributed the full sets of jerseys to each Team Head.

The Star Prize he intimated is NLe 10,000/Le 10,000,000.00 Old Leones, the Runners up will get NLe.5000.00/Le 5,000,000.00 Old Leones. And those who could not make it to the Grand Finals, will each take home NLe.2000.00/Le 2,000,000.00.

He assured the Team Administrators that they will provide food, water, and other refreshments for each match played. He smilingly pointed to the beautiful trophies displayed and assured that the Winner will go home with it and the Runners with the second trophy. He updated that they have individual trophies and a special one designed for the highest goalscorer and a fair play trophy for the Team that will comport its players and with the best behavior, and for consolation, a trophy the SLBL staff will have to play the Winner at the end of the tournament. He concluded by stating “So if the Winner may win the consolation trophy or the SLBL staff win it.

The last one is for the player of the tournament and only two trophies would be returned, the Gold and Silver whilst the others are yours. This is because we have other activities to organize for the same community.

The individual trophies you can take and the medals are yours. We will give ten shirts of jerseys to each Team and Captain arm band which we expect you to return after the tournament. You see them they are branded and the Jerseys. we also have to use them for subsequent events. That is all for the True Togetherness Gala”.

However, the Chairman told Invitees that their responsibility is not based on the preparation of refreshments, their concern is to give them the money, Jerseys, drinks, etc. And noted that those invitees are there to represent their various communities because those people are influential to their communities and the people believed in their capability.

As a result of that he said whatever thing should be given to the community must be given to them; so on Wednesday 16th November 2022, they want to see the momentum of the whole of Wellington and Calaba town. He says that is what they want to see in the joy of true togetherness they are celebrating 60 years now and in the following years if they decide to celebrate their 61st Anniversary, they would come back to them.

He spoke about how they are not there to sell their Brands; this is a True Togetherness Gala. He reiterated that the Marketing Manager would explain the plans they have to sell their Brands. During this 60years Togetherness Gala which is purely to rub shoulders with their neighbors to be closed in True Togetherness and they have their purpose which is to groove the joy of togetherness to inspire a better World.

Madam Aminata Kasim-Carew, Marketing Manager updated that as a Company they have been there for 60years and they recognize that being within Wellington does not mean the Wellington neighborhood is the only people to be focused on; it means that there are different activities they have planned in doing to ensure that they certify or celebrate with people not only in Freetown but in the East, West and the provinces. She assured me that it is not just limited to what the Public Affairs Manager was talking about and they did not only say communities but talked also about people because of how one can celebrate with the communities without celebrating the people.

The people who have been growing the beds for 60years need to be felt around, so they are doing it with their stakeholders, people, and communities, and also consumers who have been dwelling with their products for so long.

The eloquent but productive Marketing Manager unearthed that for her it is a platform she has been used to and that she knows few faces in the gathering five years ago she was the Corporate Affairs Officer and she has been the one relating to the Media and there came in growth and now she is the Marketing Manager.

She continued by saying that she is speaking specifically to the SLBL festival and wants to recognize that they have been in the Wellington areas for 60years, and during this 60 years of existence, Sierra Leone has had several brands in their portfolio.

People have seen the celebrations of certain brands and are no longer seeing them happening but now they have seen new brands coming up and that is what they do.
She said that what they did for consumers is to listen so when consumers bring in certain feedback about the products, it urges them to bring new brands.

Aminata furthers that what they have done last year was to rally, look at their portfolio and bring them new brands; she highlighted that they have Stars, Guinness, Armstrong, Heineken, Guinness, Maltina, etc; and they are still in the process of bringing and removing to fit consumers, and in the process of celebrating, they are celebrating the brands that had been patronizing with them, so consumers are really in the path up.

She said they are also ensuring this limit of celebrations they will take the celebrations to communities and to the people that have been drinking their Beer and have rolled out the Sierra Leone Brewery testimonies that were kicked up at Gigibonta and they saw big celebrities from Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and was really like a Beer Festival in the West.

When asked about people in the East and the provinces, she wasted no time in replying that they were taking people to Gigibonta who are in the West, and they are taking it to Bo for people in Bo, Makeni and bringing it back to the East so they will take it across but not going to touch everywhere but she says as she knows as they will progress and there would be other communities or other areas that may benefit in terms of activations but for now those are the voluntary work they are doing.

The Marketing Manager informed us that it is because they are giving back and appreciating the consumers which are to say they will come to the Sierra Leone Brewery festival on a three-day event allocation. She excitingly stated that when one comes the person would have entertainment, laugh out his or her side with the jokes given by comedians and some local instruments like “Bubu” for people to enjoy themselves, and gifts would be given as well as Prizes.

So one could just buy a bottle of Beer at the gate or Maltina, Heneiken, or Amstel and stands a chance of winning Prizes like an iPhone, 32 inches TV, a Gallon of oil and the list goes on. So what they have asked is that people come out and celebrate the 60th Festival and it will not just be for the communities but for everybody so by next week they would activate the outlet so that people may know.

She concluded that “Let no one forget that it is not only limited to Wellington and Calabatown people but it cut across the entire Freetown”.

The Corporate Affairs Manager also unearthed that they are expecting twelve players per Team to Register in all fixtures with a total of fifteen so as a part of their celebrations and knows that it would interest most especially the Media as part of their celebration.

He analyzed that in the business of calling the Beer most times students are trained in the University, and most times engineering students are taught but they do not see the facilities to help them build their careers, so as part of their 60th Anniversary Celebrations, they have constructed Supply Chain Academy.

He informed Media Practitioners that
there would be a launching of the Academy on the 25th of November 2022, where they will train young Sierra Leoneansthroughy Foreign Experts in this country.

He affirmed that it is part of their Laws that most occupations are being occupied by different people. How could they if they do not know how to do the Jobs, as part of their responsibility they have two traders from Nigeria to train young Sierra Leonean.

He stated that some are Graduates from the University, some are based on other Qualifications to certify them in consultation with the Ministry of Labour and those who perform well would be employed and create employment for other companies like Mega Cola and the likes. So they would train them how to do basic engineering and so on.

He said they would invite the Media again to their launching ceremonies to see the facilities they are having there that are part of their responsibility to construct the Supply Chain Management to train young Sierra Leoneans which is free but one criterion is that they are going in for high performances in the Universities and they have just enrolled fifteen in number from different Universities.
He stressed that when they have to launch the Academy, they will train them and certify them also.

He concluded by emphasizing that the competition would be based on communities; and they are surrounded by four different communities, which are Estate, Taylor Street. Wash Car, Peak Cock Farm, etc.