As an annual self-assessment and accountability measure to her constituents, Mayor Aki Sawyerr has announced the activities and projects undertaken by the Freetown City Council during 2024, as well as her plans for 2025.
According to her statement, the majority of her work focused on water access improvements, infrastructure, and construction. Although intertwined with other sectors such as education, women's empowerment, and skills development, her projects primarily focused on the aforementioned areas.
Water Access Improvements:
Installed 24 solar-powered water kiosks with filtration systems in several communities.
Provided training to women on operation, entrepreneurship, finance, and legal rights.
Completed preliminary work for 44 additional water points (wells, boreholes, and tanks) in multiple locations, with installation scheduled for 2025.
Completed planning for solar-powered boreholes in an additional 40 communities.
Distributed water filter kits to 61 municipal schools and 84 primary health units (PHUs).
Infrastructure and Construction:
Completed the new Wilberforce Market (commissioning scheduled for January).
Substantially completed perimeter fencing for two cemeteries.
Constructed perimeter fencing at Akibo-Betts Municipal School.
Constructed two classrooms, a staff room, and a resource room at Tower Hill Municipal Primary School (funded by Stanella Beckley).
Constructed and commissioned the new Kroo Bay Municipal Primary School.
Other initiatives commenced, ongoing, or planned include a completed feasibility study for a Freetown Cable Car system, the commencement of the Central Business District Regeneration project, the implementation of a street sweeping program (110 streets, Monday through Saturday), the implementation of a tree planting campaign (#FreetownTheTreeTown), the implementation of a waste conversion program to produce eco-friendly briquettes, and a cemetery cleaning initiative.
Mayor Sawyerr acknowledged challenges encountered during implementation, directing focus towards addressing the significant population increase resulting from rural-urban migration, the lack of devolution of land use planning and building permit issuance to local councils, the Kush epidemic affecting youth (70% of Freetown residents), and focusing on skills development and job creation for youth, targeting the creation of 120,000 decent jobs for women and youth by 2028.
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