The Mayor of the Freetown City Council (FCC), Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, has expressed dismay over proposed plans to divide Freetown into two cities, describing the move as one “made without any consultation whatsoever with the people for whom it will have the biggest impact, Freetonians.”
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Local Government and Community Affairs, Hon. Ambassador Tamba John Lamina, dated 3 June 2025, Mayor Aki-Sawyerr chronicles key points why she believes the move will not be in the best interest of Freetown neither its residents.
Among them, the Freetown Mayor explains the effects of mandate fragmentation on delivery of essential services, adding that already FCC faces challenges as a result of the fragmentation of mandates for the delivery of urban management functions vis-à-vis the mandates for land use planning and building approvals which are still held by the Ministry of Land; the mandates for roads and drainage construction and maintenance and the mandate for the provision of water.
She says the “proposed plan to sub-divide Freetown into two cities and create two local councils does not address any of the challenges emanating from the failure to devolve key urban management mandates but will instead create additional management and coordination challenges.”
The Mayor also catalogs the issue of “Legal Powers versus Data Driven Consideration” , noting that “whilst I recognize the powers granted to the President in Section 2 (2) of the Local Government Act to ‘declare any area as a locality’ it is also clear that Subsection (3) states that you, the Minister of Finance and the Electoral Commissioner shall in making any recommendation to him, consider population density, as well as geographic contiguity, topography and the future growth or expansion of the area.” These, she adds, have all not been considered.
She concludes by stating that the “division of Freetown into two cities with two local councils will adversely affect the delivery of services to residents, add additional and unnecessary pressure to an already stretched government budget and undermine the rich legacy and tourism potential of Freetown.”