The Management of the Hot Pepper Newspaper has made available assorted food items and cash incentives to its employees to ease their burden and make their mandatory stay-home process as stress-free as possible. Both the food items and cash were made available by the Publisher of the newspaper, Mr. Philipbert S. Browne.
The Business Manager, Georgiana M. Follay, praised the Management of the Hot Pepper for the thought and effort in reaching out to their employees during this difficult time. She said that she was not surprised by the gesture because the Hot Pepper remains the only media institution in the Republic of Liberia that provides daily feeding for its employees, as well as makes available daily transportation allowance.
Follay disclosed that, during every major incident in the country that threatens the stability of the Republic, the Management of the Hot Pepper comes to the aid of the employees, making specific reference to the food and cash bonuses received by the employees during Independence Day and Christmas.
According to the News Editor, Emmanuel Mensah, the Hot Pepper ceased its daily publications because the Management only received two passes from the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) through the Ministry of Information. According to him, the two passes issued to the paper was a disservice to the institution because the institution has twenty-one employees, which includes a production team of five. He however noted that, with the revelation coming from the Deputy Information Minister, he is hopeful that the Hot Pepper will be treated appropriately to enable them resume their daily publications next week.
Mensah said he was pleased to give the eight members of the senior management team three bags of rice, three gallons of Argo Oil and three gallons of Palm Oil, along with cash for soup per person. The News Editor said, for the rest of the employees, each person was given two bags of rice, three gallons of Argo Oil, three gallons of Palm Oil and cash for soup.
Receiving the gesture from the Management and speaking on behalf of the employees, the Staff Writer, Sheikh O. Jalloh, said he was not surprised “one bit” when he was informed about the food distribution by the Business Manager. He praised and thanked Mr. Browne for always remembering them during trouble times and urged other media executives to emulate Mr. Browne’s good example.
Jalloh praised the Management team of the paper, headed by the Managing Editor and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jah H. Johnson, and emphasized that as soon as the passes issue is settled between the Ministry of Information and the PUL, the Hot Pepper Newspaper will resume its daily publications.