The Freetown City Council (FCC) has revealed that they and other local councils have not received any government allocations for the year 2022.

FCC made this revelation in a press conference held yesterday in Freetown.

The Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr shared on social median the key messages covered in the meeting, and they were:

• the need for Freetonians to pay their property rates in order to ensure that FCC can deliver effective services. Services including daily street sweeping and market cleaning, construction of cemetery walls (Circular Road construction ongoing), market construction (Wilberforce market construction ongoing), improvements in municipal schools,

• that 40% of Freetonians rate payers only pay Le100,000 per annum,

• that FCC will physically move into communities with our bank tellers to collect property rates because we recognize that many people live far away from FCC and the approved banks (Zenith, Ecobank, Rokel Commercial and Standard Chartered Banks) and that transport is now very expensive.

Other points discussed were:

• FCC and other local councils have not received any government allocations for the year 2022

• RMFA has given funds meant for FCC to SLRA for flood mitigation

• SLRA contractors are removing silt from gutters but instead of carting the silt away, the contractors are leaving the silt by the side of the road and creating hazards and traffic disruption

• FCC has complained to SLRA and relevant government ministries but the SLRA contractors have continued to leave the silt along key roads.

• FCC will continue to fulfill our responsibility to keep the city clean in spite of these challenges and we look forward to the cooperation of Freetonians as we move into communities with our banks next week for property rate collection.