CQM – Catalyst for National Development

Concord Times (Freetown)

John Momoh

20 May 2011

opinion

Freetown — If expert advice on safety and quality standard, the maintenance and monitoring culture was adhered to in Government’s road construction efforts decades ago, the inconvenience of again spending millions of American dollars for the re-making of the Masiaka to Bo and Bo to Kenema and Magburaka to Kono highways would have been avoided.

But the politicization and the lack of budget for safety and quality standards experts’ involvement in Sierra Leone today constitute part of reasons why the nation is obliged to solicit loans and grants for road construction and other aspects of sustainable national development in this country.

Certainly one salient aspect of the functions of the Center for Quality Management (CQM), a professional group of Sierra Leonean experts in various fields relating to the development and organization of business entities and corporate governance, located on 27 Pademba Road, Freetown is to inject dynamism and efficiency. This new consultancy and business advisory group on quality management techniques is gradually making strides. Founded in 2009 by a small group of Sierra Leonean experts in various fields relating to quality standards, CQM-SL is gradually becoming a household word for enterprises seeking for a place in every competitive business environment.

During its short but eventful period of existence, the CQM-SL has set a track record as Sierra Leone’s leading consultancy group on quality standards and efficient management techniques. It is making headway in rendering consulting services to indigenous businesses, the government and international organizations in an environment in which money has been recklessly lavished on foreign consultants some of whom end up with poor performances below the huge amounts paid to them, or with the hiring of third party consultants and experts to supplement their efforts.

The slim hard-working Programme Manager and Senior CQM-SL Consultant, Hassan Jalloh, told journalists at a press conference convened at their Pademba Road offices that they are doing their best to ensure that the CQM remains not a political or profit-making entity, but purely a catalyst and tool for accompanying government’s national development efforts. He said the change of attitude that is required of all to bring positive development to this country means a high degree of patriotism and everyone putting hands on deck to realize the agenda for change objectives.

The Senior Programme Consultant indicated that re-orienting the Sierra Leonean attitude to adopt quality management and standards in the interest of development and projecting a positive image of the country is not an easy task given the problem of the lack of budget for such initiative in most ministries, departments and agencies of government, and secondly the lack of sensitization to this effect. Thus the CQM-SL is in this regard vigorously striving to sensitize business organizations, the general public and government about its role and objectives, which is to adopt quality management practices which in turn enhances competitively, quality standards and the pride of the nation.

The CQM team of professionals is not only engaging businesses to adopt quality standards, but equally engaged in research, training and advisory and consultancy services. “We want Sierra Leonean experts of different professional backgrounds to come on board,” he called, citing as an example the enviable services rendered by Dr. Philip Kanu, a lecturer at the Milton Margai College of Education and Technology, who is doing well as a nutrition and food safety and quality expert. He added that they render services on agreed terms convenient to the CQM and the clients.

The Quality Management expert, one of few in that discipline who is considered by many as one of the brains behind the success of the CQM-SL, boasted that because they render services at affordable costs, they are being lauded as a leading consultancy in quality management in West Africa with international contacts. He said they have the ability to understand, analyse business challenges, formulate and deliver focused solutions to meet the business improvement needs of clients.

The team can assist organizations or institutions to effectively structure and manage roles in a uniform way, thus increasing efficiency and effectiveness of recruitment, training and development, organizational structure, work-flow and activities, customer services as well as coordinating the development of national sub-projects, preparing project proposals and serving as an oversight of sub-project implementation.

Achievements:

According to Jalloh, the achievements of the CQM-SL and contributions to national development are worth mentioning. They include the development of standards, norms, grades and implementation of grade system for Sierra Leone, assessing the state of corporate governance under the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) project. On the other hand training and research in data processing and consultancy services is a routine activity.

Dr. Philip Kanu, a lecturer at the MMCET and senior consultant of food safety and quality management, cautioned Sierra Leoneans to be mindful of food safety and quality as it is system that requires safety and set standards so as to avoid the inconvenience of spending less money in hospitals. “It is important for the public to know that handling food items requires cleanliness and dressing. Do not allow a sick person or not properly dressed person to handle your food; allow your food to be prepared in a clean environment,” he cautioned.

The expert food safety consultant noted that due to ignorance or sheer carelessness it is unfortunate that many Sierra Leoneans often neglect observing safety measures in preparing their food, especially for sale to the public. He asked: “How safe are the packets of cold-water, locally made gin and gari? All of these surely need to undergo safety standards and quality.” In the opinion of Dr. Kanu, those in the food selling business should be aware of temperature for storage, expiration date and should be educated on the harmful effects of keeping finger-nails, adding that the food safety education should start from the farm and should be an ongoing process.

Dr. Kanu ended on the note of explaining the essence of applying quality management standard as it involves record-keeping, payment of necessary allowances and miscellaneous bills to motivate and enhance working conditions.

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