On Saturday, June 7, 2025, during a press conference held at the Freetown City Council and chaired by Deputy Mayor Kweku Lisk Esq., alongside several councillors, I reaffirmed the Freetown City Council’s firm opposition to the central government’s recent proposal to divide the capital into two cities with two local councils. As I emphasised in my Open Letter to the Honorable Minister of Local Government and Community Affairs, such a move poses serious risks to the social cohesion, economic stability, and administrative integrity of Freetown. The challenges that Freetown faces are in fact principally rooted in the current fragmentation of urban management mandates. Significantly, under the mandate of the Ministry of Lands, there is no land use planning and the building permits regime is ineffective, which has a knock on effect on access, sanitation and street scapes.
I am grateful to the broad coalition of stakeholders who made statements at the press conference, including civil rights advocate and CHRDI CEO Abdul M. Fatorma, Claude Bhamee Davies Esq, the PRO of the Lawyers Society of Sierra Leone, Rev James Lahai of the National Elections Watch (NEW), Hon. Ben Mansaray, representing the APC Parliamentary Caucus, prominent member of the Krio Descendants Union Cassandra Garber and President of the Krio Community Samuel Valcarcel Esq. They all voiced shared concerns about the government’s lack of inclusive consultation and the absence of evidence-based data justification for the proposed restructuring.
I also appreciate the presence at the press conference of Mr Emilio Rossetti, Deputy EU Ambassador, lawyers Ady Macauley Esq and Hon Osman Tombo Esq, Francis Reffell of CODOHSAPA, Foday Sahid Kamara President of the Traders Council and others.
Our primary focus as the Freetown City Council is to address the challenges of and improve service delivery to the residents of Freetown. The proposed division of our city into two cities will do neither. We encourage all Freetonians to participate in this ongoing important conversation about the future of our beloved city.
