Sierra Leone Telegraph: 01 January 2026:
Dear Freetonians, as we draw the curtains on 2025, I am deeply grateful for the unwavering support you have shown to the work of the Freetown City Council throughout the year.
Like every year, 2025 came with both achievements and challenges, but together we demonstrated resilience and commitment to the future of our city. Thank you Freetonians!
Despite the challenges we faced the Council was able to make meaningful progress. Below are a few selected highlights from our work in 2025. A comprehensive annual report detailing our full activities and impact will be published shortly.
In 2025, we introduced new Waste Management Byelaws that formally integrated private sector participation and made waste collection directly from our homes and businesses compulsory. Freetonians are now required to register with FCC approved waste service providers for the management of their waste.
More than 700 Community Engagement and Enforcement Workers were engaged to sensitize our residents about the new Bylaws under the campaign title “Dorti Mus Go”!
We also strengthened women’s access to information on waste management, by working with civil society and the media and the creation of a public mural at Kissy Cemetery, highlighting the use of FCC’s waste management services 8244 toll-free line.
With respect to the carbon accreditation process for FreetownTheTreetown, we are pleased to have advanced the preparation of the Project Design Documents and are currently awaiting submission to the Verra Carbon Registry.
We also successfully created 2,500 direct jobs for youth and women who were engaged as tree trackers and field monitors. This tree planting initiative underscores our ongoing commitment to promoting a climate-resilient city whilst creating good green jobs for youth and women.
During our community engagement for the city’s development agenda, access to water was identified as the number one priority of Freetonians. Water provision is the mandate of Guma but we took steps to collaborate and cooperate to expand safe, water access.
Across five informal settlement communities, over 20 solar-powered water kiosks are now operational, with 200 women empowered as frontline water managers, strengthening livelihoods and accountability.
As part of our flood mitigation efforts, we worked closely with over 1,000 residents to remove silt and garbage from critical drainage channels across the city, demonstrating once again that community partnership remains central to building climate resilience.
We also celebrated the 18 winners of the second round of the Bloomberg Youth Climate Action Fund. This initiative supported youth-led climate solutions with micro-grants totalling USD 87,471, empowering young people to take leadership in addressing the climate crisis. Their projects ranged from installing solar lights in markets to developing an urban farming irrigation system that Council is looking forward to utilizing in the New Year!
Another major milestone was the launch of construction of the Susan’s Bay Care Block. The Care Block is designed to provide empowerment opportunities for women who are not able to fulfil their own potential because they are caring for their children, for elderly family members or for persons with disabilities.
When the Care Block is completed, these women will be able to access adult education, skills training, nutrition support, healthcare and support re gender-based violence whilst their dependents are being cared for by staff at the Care Block. Movie nights and yoga are also on offer for participants!
Under our Transform Freetown–Transforming Lives sanitation agenda, we officially handed over management of the Kingtom (Bomeh) dumpsite to Sierra Forever Green Ltd. This transition is expected to significantly reduce operational costs while improving efficiency and environmental outcomes through plastics recycling, which will create over 500 jobs.
We were honoured to host Zurich Mayor Corine Mauch for a review of the CHF 2.5 million City-to-City Urban Regeneration Partnership between Freetown and Zurich. The project’s focus is to revitalize the Central Business District through expanding pavements, introducing a controlled parking zone and solar street lighting and providing more green public spaces.
The pavement works were initially due to start in December but will now commence in early January.
FCC also proudly hosted the 4th Nalafem Summit under the theme “From Representation to Power: Women Leading in Crisis & Peace.” The summit brought together 100 women leaders from across Africa, including former President of Liberia, H. E. Mdme Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, ministers, parliamentarians, youth leaders, and activists, reinforcing Freetown’s commitment to women’s leadership.
Freetown also hosted the first African Urban Heat Summit, culminating in the launch of the city’s first-ever Heat Action Plan by His Excellency the Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh. This landmark plan outlines targeted policies and partnerships to protect residents from extreme heat and build long-term urban resilience.
On infrastructure, we commissioned newly constructed perimeter walls at the Kissy Road and Ascension Town cemeteries to enhance security of these sacred spaces. Fully funded through FCC’s own-source revenue, these and other projects were made possible because Freetonians paid their property rates and business licenses.
We also commissioned the Wilberforce Village Market Complex. The completed facility includes a wet goods market, shops for dry goods, an entertainment and event space, storage areas, and modern amenities that support both commerce and community life.
In the area of tourism and heritage conservation, FCC supported youth training in Heritage Ironwork at the historic Old Fourah Bay College site, contributing both to the restoration of this national landmark and to the development of local expertise in heritage preservation.
We were pleased to host the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), whose work resulted in a high-quality 3D maps of the entire city. We anticipate that when urban planning and building permit functions are eventually devolved to the local councils, this tool will greatly support our work.
Another key engagement was the visit of Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40 Cities. Through our C40 membership and with my role as the C40 Cities Global South Co-Chair, Freetown continues to access global partnerships, climate finance, and peer learning.
Mark’s visit provided a platform for major announcements, including a partnership to deploy low-cost air quality sensors across the city and a USD 100,000 Rockefeller Foundation grant for Freetown’s Heat-Health Resilience Project – both projects are now in their inception stages.
In a year in which the future of our historic city was threatened, we were particularly encouraged by the strong civic engagement demonstrated at the FCC Town Hall Meeting held on Thursday, 26 June 2025, where nearly 600 residents voiced clear opposition to the proposed division of Freetown. Your participation reaffirmed the importance of inclusive governance and collective decision-making.
In the area of challenges, a major challenge was the non-disbursement of devolved funds by central government for 2025. This adversely impacted on our ability to support primary health care among other devolved sectors.
The issues of corpses on the streets of the city, which continues to be a blight on our landscape and our collective conscience cannot be ignored. Nor can we ignore the kush pandemic, one of the consequences of which is a marked increase in youth illegally collecting garbage and dumping their infamous garbage bags along the side of roads in order to feed their drug habit.
We must all direct our efforts and resources to eradicate this scourge and the proliferation of other harmful drugs in order to protect the future of our youth.
May I use this opportunity to extend my thanks to all our stakeholders – to the Government, and to our international and local development partners. May I also extend my sincere thanks to my Deputy Mayor, Councillors, staff of FCC and the Mayor’s Delivery Unit for their hard work and continued commitment.
(Video: You can watch Mayor Aki-Sawyerr here declaring her intention to contest the 2028 Presidential election):
As we step into the New Year I am confident that with our collective determination we will advance our journey to Transform Freetown and Transform Lives!
Happy New Year, Freetown!
Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE
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