In a well-attended ceremony held on Wednesday1st March2023 at the Freetown City Council (FCC) building, the former Mayor of the Freetown Municipality, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, outlined her successes made during her tenure as the Mayor of Freetown, from May 2018 – March 2023, and handed over the three decorative Mayoral chains as a symbol of authority of the Office of the Mayor to the Chief Administrator, Festus Kallay.
It was an evening of deep reflection and mixed feelings as staff at the FCC, Councilors and Freetonians showered praises and goodwill messages on her for her exemplary leadership over the past four Years. Ordinary Freetonians, Staff of FCC, Councillors, market women and Street Sweepers surprised her with gifts etc.
The cocktail was graciously attended by the APC Flagbearer, Dr. Samura Kamara, Tony Blair Institute Country Lead Mariama- Anthony Williams, UK High Commissioner -Lisa Chesney, Irish Ambassador- Claire Buckley, World Bank Country Manager- Abdu Muwonge, EU Delegation Rep. Serena Bertiana, US Ambassador- David Reimer and many other development partners and stakeholders.
“May I use this opportunity to wish Freetonians and all Sierra Leoneans a peaceful and democratic 24th June 2023 elections and a bright and prosperous future for our beloved city and nation. May God bless us all” Aki Sawyer expressed goodwill.
It could be recalled that her tenure came to an end pursuant to a Letter from the Minister of Local Government, Tamba Lamina dated 8thFebruary 2023 instructing all Mayors, Chairpersons, and Councilors to “Vacate” their respective Local Councils on the 1stMarch 2023.
Four years on, there is a school of thought that believes that the former Mayor, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr’s successes could be characterized as a win for Freetown and by extension Sierra Leone.
They pointed that amongst her successes includes: The Early Learning Adventure Day Care Nursery Centers constructed in the city considered to be a huge score under her leadership especially as it availed the children of women trading at Congo Water Market, Wellington standard preschool education.
The Congo Water Market Day Care and Nursery caters for 40 children (18 girls and 22 boys) aged 0 – 5 years, who receive free early education using hands-on activities designed to promote the development of motor and cognitive abilities. A similar facility was also constructed at Kroo Town Road market. The only condition for registration at these early learning centers is that the mother is a trader at the market.
They also pointed out the Official Launch of Freetown’s First Climate Action Plan – Environmental Management.
On the 19th January, 2023, the FCC reached another significant milestone in building a climate-resilient city and combating the effects of climate change. The former Mayor officially launched Freetown’s first-ever climate Action Plan in collaboration with C40 Cities, the plan that follows the two-pronged approach to implement mitigation and adaptation measures in the fight against climate change. The plan introduces policies and ideas that will help the city to move forward with existing consequences of climate change.
Another that was mentioned was the C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropy Award 2022, winning in the United to Innovate Category.
They referred to 2022 when Freetown was honored to be selected as a winner of the 2022 C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropy Award under the United to Innovative category for the Project, Freetown the Tree Town. According to them, it was an honor for Freetown to be recognized as a leader in global efforts to tackle the climate crisis and she stayed united in action with other bold and impactful cities paving the way for a greener &healthier future across five award categories.
The Awards winners were announced at the C40Summit in Buenos Aires, the largest convening of city leaders to address the climate crisis, attended by more than 40 world-leading Mayors and scientists, business leaders, campaigners, and youth leaders.
The Kingtom Waste Plant constructed by the FCC was also mentioned.
Sierra Leone’s first-ever waste water treatment plant at Kingtom dumpsite became fully operational in 2021. The construction of the FSM plant was a milestone in her journey to address the challenges of the integrated waste management system for the increasing population in Freetown.
In terms of Flood Mitigation activities, the 2022 flood mitigation project is said to have been geared towards clearing public drainages, raise public awareness on flooding risks, encourage communities to participate in and own flood mitigation interventions, and strengthen FCC sanitation inspection and enforcement. Drainage projects implemented by FCC in the past four years have reduced flooding in various communities during the rainy season.
The FCC Salary harmonization process had been completed and a transparent system of salary that objectively reflect qualifications, experience and length of service was being implemented for all staff from February 2023.
Over 1000 Jobs were created for women, street sweepers, MET Officers during her tenure which has provided economic empowerment, growth, and development.
With regards Sanitation – Healthy City they say four years on, the FCC together with numerous partners have been working to improve solid and liquid waste management systems in the city. Creation of the Youth Tricycle Microenterprises, a critical component of FCC’s integrated Waste Management Value Chain, opening and operation of Sierra Leone’s first liquid waste management plant, the building of waste transfers stations, and numerous improvements in the dump sites and sanitation fleet performance, are said to be just a few examples of her commitment to make Freetown cleaner and healthier for the residents.
The aforementioned achievements are said to be in line with the Transform Freetown agenda that was geared towards continually transforming lives and giving a facelift to the city, Freetown.
Transform Freetown was a collective action and a priority strategic plan under the watch of former Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyer.
Priorities were grouped into four clusters – Resilience, Human Development, Healthy City, and Urban Mobility.
During her bidding farewell, she expressed delight that the Transform Freetown Project has been successful and that she remains committed to achieving the goals of addressing Freetown’s socio-economic challenges and environmental vulnerabilities.
