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, the Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE reaffirmed FCC’s firm opposition to the central government’s recent proposal to divide the capital into two cities with two local councils. As she emphasised in her 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.

Also making statements at the press conference was a broad coalition of stakeholders 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.

Also present were 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.

FCC’s primary focus 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. FCC encourages all Freetonians to participate in this ongoing important conversation about the future of our beloved city.