Monrovia – Twenty-five (25) block makers in the port city of Buchanan, Grand Bassa County on Saturday, May 12, 2018, received a certificate of achievement, following a day-long intensive block production training.
The training, which is CEMENCO Block Maker Academy Program First Edition out of Monrovia, is an initiative embarked upon by the company aimed at teaching block makers how to make quality blocks by knowing the number of materials to produce a block.
According to the management, the block making training is being carried out once a month in all the counties and subsequently, it would be carried out two and three times a month in the various parts of the country.
Speaking at the training program, the Safety, Health and Environment Team Manager at CEMENCO, Mr. Nathaniel Pritchard, told the participants that one of the company’s topmost priorities is the adherence to safety measures.
Pritchard named health and safety, environmental and quality as CEMENCO’s targeted policies, something he recalled, the company has been doing since 1968.
He then urged the participants to always adhere to safety measures, saying it is cardinal for the safety and enhancement of block production.
Giving the overview of the initiative, the Sales Manager of CEMENCO, Madam Vivian Saamoi, emphasized that the training is intended to enhance quality block making.
Vivian pointed out that the ingenuity is also in line with President George Manneh Weah’s “Pro-Poor” Agenda, and is as well part of CEMENCO’s Corporate Social Responsibility to the people of Grand Bassa County and Liberia by extension.
“Having realized that majority of those who use our cement is the block makers, we decided to open the CEMENCO Block Maker Academy Program to help you improve in the production of block making, ” the CEMENCO’s Sales Manager said.
“From these exercises today, the 2,500 blocks you will produce will be given as part of our corporate social responsibility towards the building of the old folks home here, which is to be constructed by the Clar Weah Foundation. We are doing this because if the pro-poor agenda is to succeed, it needs the effort of every one of us,” she, among other things, added.
Making a presentation on Cement production and quality, CEMENCO’s Production Manager, Mr. Wesley Tarnue, like Vivian, also emphasized that the training is the company’s own way of helping block makers to make quality bricks for the people of Liberia.
Tarnue drilled the participants through the standards involved in making lasting bricks for their customers, stressing that though the process is a tedious one, they-participants are capable of doing it if they are willing.
He explained to the trainees the types of cement that CEMENCO is producing, bragging that the highest quality of cement is produced at the Liberia-owned company-CEMENCO.
But the CEMENCO’s Production Manager was quick to point out that, “because many people miss out on the exact measurement to use in order to make more profit, the end product is most at times not guaranteed”.
“I want to use this time to admonish you to always use the rightful measurement following this training. When you are making your block, it should not only be meant for profit making, but quality must always be your hallmark,” the CEMENCO’s Production Manager asserted.
He reminded the participants that they were being trained in order to train others, and by doing so, the initiative would be enhanced and people-driven.
Also speaking at the training programme, Mr. Robert O. Marshall, Logistic and Shipping Manager of CEMENCO, encouraged the block makers and the entire Liberian populace to always use CEMENCO made cement, because it is of high quality.
“In addition of our high quality, we are Liberian owned and so our contribution to the nation’s economy is by far greater than any cement company,” Marshall boasted.
“Furthermore, unlike other cement importers, we have never gone out of stock because our products are made right here,” Marshall mentioned.
In addition to the training, the company also donated 250 bags of cements, 25 sets of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), 25 pairs of boots, 25 pieces of wheelbarrows and other equipment to the 25 participants of the training and the block factories which they represent.
The CEMENCO’s official reaffirmed that CEMENCO remains a partner to the development agenda of the Government of Liberia (GOL), making specific reference to President George Manneh Weah’s “Pro-Poor” Agenda .
He then disclosed that the CEMENCO Block Maker Academy Program next outside edition will be launched in Ganta City, Nimba County at the end of the month.
Grand Bassa County Information Officer, Mr. Eddie Williams, speaking on behalf of the county authorities, said the training program of CEMENCO is truly in line with the “Pro-Poor” Agenda of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) led- Administration.
In order for this agenda to succeed for the benefit of all Liberians, he warned that all hands must be on deck.
He urged the trainees to use the acquired skills and acknowledge properly for the growth and development of their county and the nation at large.
Mr. Emmanuel Garduor, who is a distributor of CEMENCO in the county, speaking on behalf of the participants, lauded the company for contributing to the human resource development of ordinary Liberians.
Garduor vowed that the donated equipment by CEMENCO will be properly used for their intended purposes.