Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown has dedicated an international award she received from the German Africa Foundation to residents of her city.

Reacting to the award, she said, “I dedicate the 2024 German Africa award to my teams, to our partners and residents of Freetown.”

She added that the award is a recognition of her work to transform the Sierra Leonean capital into an eco-friendly city through her TransformFreetown initiative.

“I was awarded in recognition of my efforts towards sustainable urban development, exemplified by interventions such as digitization of property rates, planting of one million trees, the establishment of Freetown’s first wastewater treatment plant and an inclusive community engagement approach,” she said.

The Freetown Mayor concluded by stating that during the course of the ceremony she held a dialogue with some stakeholders focusing on the challenges of urbanization, climate adaptation and the recently conducted feasibility studies on the Freetown Cable Car and job creation opportunities.