United States Ambassador to Liberia, Michael McCarthy has thanked Indian business tycoon Upjit Singh Sachdeva commonly known as Jeety for the construction/establishment of a US$25 million Rubber Factory in Liberia.
This, Ambassador McCarthy maintained would help expand the Liberian economy, while having a profound impact on the host community as well as provide more job opportunities for Liberians.
The factory, which is owned by Indian former Consul General to Liberia will be the first in country to add value to the cultivation of rubber, a hugely important commodity for the Liberian economy, which currently exports raw product to other nations for processing.
Furthermore, the construction of the factory comes at a time when Liberia is looking to diversify its economy, thus reducing its dependence on a small number of export industries.
The investment will also help drive this diversification, making important inroads into Liberia’s burgeoning manufacturing sector, as experts also stated that the factory would serve as a catalyst for further investment in the country, building upon existing successes and encouraging a wave of new developments.
Ambassador McCarthy believes that the factory, which is still under construction, will have a positive impact on the host community by providing much-needed jobs, and much needed skills for the Liberian workforce.
“Though the company is yet to produce a finished rubber product at its facility, it has already started to positively impact the lives of citizens and the local economy,” the U.S envoy noted.
“[Sachdeva] is a good example of many things. One is civic volunteerism. He has done some things as a volunteer like feeding the prisons, supporting industries and citizens for the greater society. Coming here today is another example of what can happen if you allow investors to come in and put some money into the land and into the people.”
Ambassador McCarthy further observed that the investment carried out by Sachdeva, who has stayed many decades in Liberia, showcases his trust and confidence in the country, which makes him feel “comfortable to invest his money.”
The U.S Diplomat further indicated that Sachdeva, who is a former Honorary Consul General of India, has been very ambitious to establish the company in the country, and thereby called on the Liberian government to provide visas to foreign investors upon their arrival in the country to encourage foreign-direct investment.
He suggested that Liberian visas can be sold at the airport to Western and American investors upon their arrival at a higher price than their actual value to boost the country’s economy.
“[The other thing is] risk. The more risks, the more the investors will stay away but if more barriers are removed, would encourage foreign-direct investments in the Liberian economy,” he added.
Meanwhile, Jeety at the smae time described the construction of the factory as his way of fulfilling his ambition to improve the Liberian economy and providing hundreds of jobs for citizens.
The workforce of the company is made up of 85% of Weala citizens, while the remaining 15% is from other parts of the country. “I believe that by God’s blessings we will be starting hopefully in July and citizens of Weala are the ones that I will look to first for employment,” Jeety mentioned.
“I have the full support of every department of the government; they are supporting me wholeheartedly so I can start this thing. We are not planting any tree; we will buy rubber from every farmer in this country.”
“The investment is a visual of how this country can be turned around. Everyone agrees that what this country really needs to move forward is foreign investment and this is a perfect example,” Sachdeva says.
