Liberia-Successful Indian businessman, Mr. Upjit Singh Sachdeva, has vowed to produce the first rubber glove in as well as the first made-in-Liberia tire in the country, only if the Liberian government creates the level playing field by giving him the raw materials.
Mr. Sachdeva, commonly known as Jeety, owns and operates a rubber processing factory in Weala, Margibi, providing huge employment and economic opportunities for thousands of Liberians.
He made the commitment at the weekend when an official from the United States Embassy toured the facility.
During the tour, Chargé d'Affaires, Ms. Catherine Rodriguez spoke positively of efforts being made by Indian businessman and philanthropist, Mr. Upjit Singh Sachdeva, to empower Liberians economically as part of his investment ventures in Liberia.
Chargé d'Affaires, Ms. Catherine Rodriguez at the weekend toured Mr. Sachdeva's over US$40-million rubber processing factory in Weala, Margibi County, and described the investment as economic development and empowerment that has the potential to provide opportunity for growth in Liberia.
The US Embassy official said one of the major advocacies of her government is economic development, which she said will push Liberia out of its current state and thrust it into the next level of prosperity, also emphasizing how Liberia has benefited from foreign assistance for many years through economic development that has provided opportunities.
Madam Rodriguez praised Mr. Sachdeva, widely known as "Jeety," for what she calls "an enviable level of fan base" in Liberia, noting that the rubber processing factory is providing economic opportunities for thousands of citizens, not just those opportune to work there.
She said: "People are benefitting from the food that you are providing, from the additional money that your employees have to pay school fees, to buy new clothes, etc. Your money here, your investment here, your vision here is something to be admired."
She acknowledged that though there are many business ventures in Liberia, Jeety, however, is ensuring that citizens have hope and faith in his investment by providing opportunity that makes Liberia an economic powerhouse.
Not only did she extol the Indian business maharishi She applauded all the rubber farmers who are selling to Jeety and other buyers and told the Rubber Planters Association of Liberia (RPAL) through its leadership and small rubber farms' farmers that she looks forward to working with all of them, "to make sure that farmers continue selling but more importantly that farmer continue to make money."
The US Diplomat emphasized that every country needs farmers: adding: "farmers are the backbones of any country."
Madam Rodriguez also used the occasion to thank the locals for the support they continue to render by making sure the investment is protected in a way that also benefits them and their communities.
In his remarks, Mr. Mr. Sachdeva said the quantity of rubber his factory requires to operate at its maximum is about 225 tons of raw rubber daily.
He stated that in May, he received 2,312 tons of rubber, 1,476 tons in April, 1,722 tons in March, 2,494.65 tons in February and 2,696 tons in January, blaming the situation on lots of challenges he declined to enumerate.
According to him, he promised former Ambassador Michael McCarthy in 2021 that he had planned to have a rubber factory in Liberia, and that Mr. McCarthy told him otherwise that the vision is too huge and unachievable it in short space a time taking into account the bottlenecks in getting things done in Liberia.
"And, whatever I promised him that time, I achieved. Today, I promise you that if the farming community, if the government just give me the raw materials, I will make the first rubber glove in the country; I will make the first made-in-Liberia tire in the country," Mr. Jeety vowed.
The Indian businessman also called on the Liberian Government to fix the purchasing price of the rubber from the small farmers, disclosing that he supports the price the RPAL has proposed.
"Let the government fix the price as it is in Ivory Coast. The price difference between Ivory Coast and Liberia is just a couple of dollars that is because processing cost is cheaper in Ivory Coast," he echoed.
He spoke of the difficulties in the Liberian investment climate, saying there is no for investors to provide their own electricity, build road, and also build school because "these things come with costs."
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As an investor, he said he has done a lot, including providing many social amenities for the locals, building a modern health facility, providing pipe-borne drinking water kiosks for various communities in Weala, and constantly making the road pliable. Apart from these interventions, Mr. Sachdeva said he also generating his own electricity to the processing plant.
At the moment, Jeety disclosed that he spends about US$212.00 generators that are burning 3500 gallons or 58.3 drums of diesel fuel daily.
"The over US$40-million rubber-processing factory investment will generate between US$40 to US$50 million in foreign exchange and contribute substantially to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)," he announced, and added that the company, in phase one, will produce and export Technical Specified Rubber (TSR10) and Technical Specified Rubber (TSR20) respectively.
TSR10 and TSR20 are used for the production of tires of all kinds, bags, mats, and other materials.
