The leadership of the Liberia Scrap Dealers Association (LSDA), through the office of its President, Ayoubah Kamara, has expressed shock over the Wednesday, August 18, 2021 fire incident at Sethi Steel Plant in Monrovia.
The multi-million Sethi steel processing factory, located at the Industrial Park in Gardnesville, is said to be Liberia’s first ever steel manufacturing plant. It has provided employment opportunities for Liberians and foreign nationals since it began operation here a few years ago.
The fire incident that hit the steel plant, which produces steel rod of all grades, and nails, among other steel materials, saw about seven (7) persons, including three Indians and four local workers, reportedly sustaining injuries as a result of the fire.
Against this backdrop, the LSDA, which is a business friend of the proprietor of the Sethi steel factory, Rasphal Singh (aka Paul Sethi), is extending the association’s deepest sympathy for the fire outbreak at the premises of the factory yesterday. The fire affected some seven members of Sethi’s workforce, who are undergoing medical treatment at a hospital in Monrovia.
“Accordingly, the LSDA leadership and its scores of members in all part of the country wish Mr. Singh and the management well, regarding the damage caused by the fire at Sethi steel plant, as he strives to overcome the stress. The LSDA prays that those affected during the fire incident a speedy recovery as they undergo medical treatment at the hospital,” a press release from the LSDA said.
As the Hot Pepper went to press, the actual cause of yesterday’s fire incident at the Sethi steel plant could not readily be established. The LSDA, through its leadership, wholeheartedly regretted the episode at the factory, a large tax payer in government’s revenue generation and partner-in-progress in Liberia’s scrap sector.
Despite the fire incident at the Sethi steel plant, LSDA’s President, Ayoubah Kamara, in a brief chat with this paper described Rashpal Singh or Paul Sethi as a valued partner in the scrap business, and underscored the need to further concretize the business link to boost the industry in Liberia.