The former Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr has revealed that Freetown City will benefit from the construction of 65 water kiosks and 15 Public Toilets.

The former Mayor said the project will be sponsored by the Swiss Development Corporation (Blue Peace) and the Peacebuilding Fund.

Aki-Sawyerr made this revelation after attending the United Nations 2023 Water Conference in New York as one of the Commissioners of the 12-person Global Commission on the Economics of Water.

The implementation phase of the project surfaced after the former Mayor discussed with Mourad Wahba, Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and the designing of extensive joint concept and program development.

“Responsibility for the provision of water in Freetown is the legal mandate of the Guma Valley Water Company but Freetown City Council is committed to supporting water provision,” Aki-Sawyerr said.

Water supply in the Sierra Leonean capital has been an issue for a while now. Experts believe that the principal reason is that the dams that supply the city were built for a population of around 300,000 but the city with over a million now can only cope with intermittent cuts in the water supply.

In other news, Aki-Sawyerr is set to run against SLPP Mohamed Gento Kamara in the June 2023 elections. The APC former mayor will be seeking a second stint at City Hall.