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The Freetown City Council (FCC) will next week begin a comprehensive door-to-door outreach campaign aimed at encouraging households and businesses to register for formal waste collection services as part of efforts to improve sanitation across the capital.
Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE announced the initiative during an appearance on AYV’s Wake Up Sierra Leone, describing it as a key step towards increasing public participation in proper waste disposal and promoting a cleaner and healthier city.
She said the campaign forms part of the Council’s broader strategy to strengthen waste management and improve environmental sanitation through greater community engagement.
The Mayor also reiterated the Council’s commitment to enforcing sanitation regulations, warning that property owners who fail to keep the frontages of their homes and business premises clean could face fines of up to five million leones.
“Clean your frontage or pay five million leones. Freetonians, we need to change our attitude in making Freetown a clean city,” she said.
Beyond waste management, Mayor Aki-Sawyerr highlighted the rapid growth of informal settlements as one of Freetown’s most pressing urban challenges.
She attributed the situation to inadequate land-use planning and weak enforcement of building regulations, stressing that sustainable urban development depends on proper planning and strict compliance with land-use policies.
She maintained that effective land-use planning remains the most practical solution to addressing the expansion of informal settlements across the city.
The Mayor also commented on the ongoing national conversation about relocating Sierra Leone’s capital, stating that she would support such a move if it serves the country’s long-term development interests.
In addition, she raised concerns over what she described as widespread tree felling at Fourah Bay College, warning that the continued loss of trees threatens the institution’s environmental heritage.
Her remarks come as the Freetown City Council intensifies efforts to improve waste management, enforce sanitation standards and respond to the environmental and urban development challenges facing the capital.
