In a rare social media livestream video cast to mark her first year in office on Saturday May 11, the Mayor of Freetown Yvonne Aki-Sawyer.
disclosed plans by the Freetown City Council to convert the Kingtom dumpsite in Freetown into what she described as “a faecal sludge treatment centre”.
This move by the Freetown City Council is part of its wider plans to manage the rate at which major dumpsites in Freetown are overwhelmed by waste, Mayor Aki-Sawyer said.
The Mayor of Freetown confirmed that there was already a roadmap which would see the construction of a landfill site at the normally unsightly Kingtom dumpsite, which is predominantly used for open dumping of sewage and other waste matter that pose possible health risk to people living in nearby communities. “FCC expects to obtain funding for the construction of a faecal sludge treatment centre at Kingtom, using a cost-effective technology which aims to stop the open dumping of sewage and the consequent poisoning of the watercourses,” Mayor Aki-Sawyer assured.
She added that based on a recent feasibility study, plans were also underway to turn the dumpsite into a planned landfill. Albert Kabbia, a resident of Kroo Town Road community around the Kingtom dumpsite described the proposed move as a “source of relief” for inhabitants in the communities around the Kingtom dumpsite. He however questioned how soon the project will get off the ground saying “This is not the first time we are hearing about plans to transform our dumpsite into landfill for the production of gas and other useful chemicals,” given that all earlier promises are yet to see the light of day.
Meanwhile, Salifu Koroma, a Bio-Chemical Expert, has called on the Freetown City Council and their partners to observe and maintain good practices saying “This is to ensure that the good intention of the Mayor and other authorities to transform the community does not end up into an even more worst environmental situation for community people.”
