FREETOWN – Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, has voiced strong opposition to government proposals to divide the capital into two separate cities with independent local councils, warning that such a move would “make Freetown’s challenges worse, not better.”
The Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs has scheduled a public consultation on the proposal for Thursday, September 18, at 10 a.m. in the Freetown City Council Auditorium.
In a statement posted on social media, Mayor Aki-Sawyerr urged residents to attend and make their views heard, while reaffirming her stance against the plan.
“I am not opposed because it affects my tenure as Mayor,” she wrote. “I am opposed because this will negatively impact the future of Freetown and the lives of Freetonians.”
The Mayor highlighted ongoing financial constraints, revealing that none of the 2025 budget allocations for devolved functions have been transferred to the Freetown City Council or other local councils across Sierra Leone.
She said the council only received funds in August for the final quarter of 2024, leaving service delivery under severe strain.
Aki-Sawyerr warned that creating an additional local council within Freetown’s 82-square-kilometre area would worsen coordination problems with ministries and agencies and further deplete already limited financial resources.
“Coordination will now be required by two councils instead of one,” she cautioned.
“This will not generate wealth or stimulate growth. It will simply increase the public sector wage bill and divert scarce resources away from critical services.”
The Mayor also pointed to the city’s East End—home to the highest population but contributing only about 20% of property rates—as a community that would be “extremely disadvantaged” by the proposed division.
Declaring her continued resistance, Aki-Sawyerr said, “Freetown deserves to meet its potential and flourish. The proposed plans will not solve any of Freetown’s challenges; they will make them worse. So I will continue to say, ‘Save Freetown!’”
The Ministry of Local Government has yet to respond publicly to the Mayor’s latest remarks.
