Government of Sierra Leone Gazettes Two New Districts, Establishes New Local Councils
Tolulope Aina The Government of Sierra Leone has formally gazetted the establishment of Bandajuma and Kpanguima districts, alongside new and reorganised local councils and a number of chiefdoms and villages.
The changes are contained in an Extraordinary issue of The Sierra Leone Gazette dated 16 September 2026, published by the Government Printing Department under Government Notice No. 246-277.
Among the statutory instruments published are the Bandajuma District (Establishment) Order, 2026, listed as Statutory Instrument No. 7, and the Kpanguima District (Establishment) Order, 2026, listed as Statutory Instrument No. 18. Their respective district councils are established under Statutory Instruments Nos. 14 and 17.
The Gazette also formally establishes the Freetown City Council, Freetown West City Council and Lungi City Council, through Statutory Instruments Nos. 13, 15 and 19 respectively.
The latest move gives legal effect to a redistricting and decentralisation programme that the government has been developing since 2025.
In an earlier announcement, Minister of Local Government and Community Affairs Tamba Lamina said Cabinet had approved the creation of Bandajuma and Kpanguma districts, with Bandajuma affecting parts of Bo and Pujehun and Kpanguma covering communities in Kenema and Kailahun. The government also announced plans for additional councils in the Western Area and for Lungi to be elevated to city status.
The government has said the reforms are intended to bring local administration closer to communities, improve service delivery, strengthen local revenue mobilisation and support a more equitable distribution of resources.
The Gazette’s provisions extend beyond the two new districts and councils. The September 16 publication also lists establishment orders covering Barawa, Biriwa Limba, Biriwa, Bongre, Kamadugu and Lunia chiefdoms, as well as Bankor, Black Johnson and During as villages, among others.
The Government’s wider redistricting programme had previously been presented as a restructuring of local administration in the Western Area. The Ministry of Information said Freetown would be organised into additional administrative localities, while the Western Area Rural District would also have additional local administrative structures. Lungi was separately identified for city status because of its strategic location and proximity to the international airport.
The new legal instruments are being issued under the Local Government Act 2022, which gives the President, acting on the recommendation of the Minister responsible for local government, the Minister responsible for finance and the Commissioner of the Electoral Commission, power by statutory instrument to declare an area a locality, assign it a name and establish a council for that locality.
The same law requires recommendations on new localities to take into account factors including population and population density, geographical contiguity, topography, and future growth or expansion. It also provides for government support to newly established councils, including resources for elections, administrative capacity, staff, equipment, recurrent budgets and office facilities.
The gazetting therefore represents a significant legal step in the government’s decentralisation programme. It gives formal statutory status to the named administrative units, while the practical process of establishing their structures and operations will require further administrative and financial arrangements under the Local Government Act.
The development is particularly significant for Lungi, where the government has been promoting the area as an emerging strategic urban centre linked to the international airport. In May 2026, the Local Government Ministry unveiled a proposed map and development blueprint for the new Lungi city as part of the wider restructuring exercise.
The new districts also move proposals that had previously been announced through government briefings into the formal legal framework.
The September Gazette lists the establishment orders now taking effect on paper, marking the latest stage of Sierra Leone’s continuing effort to restructure local administration and expand the number of administrative units responsible for governance and service delivery.