NDMA and partner agencies carried out a demolition on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, to remove illegal structures over a main water pipeline at Mambo Old Road, which had disrupted Freetown’s water supply.

The demolition targeted a two-storey building, two single-storey buildings, and several makeshift structures that were illegally constructed directly on top of the main pipeline. These structures caused significant damage to the pipeline, resulting in the loss of millions of litres of treated water and leading to acute water shortages across Freetown over the past three weeks.

The intervention followed an inter-agency meeting held yesterday at the NDMA Headquarters, during which GVWC delivered a PowerPoint presentation outlining the findings of its technical assessment. The assessment revealed that the damage to the pipeline was directly linked to illegal constructions over the main pipeline, which compromised the structural integrity of the infrastructure.

At the meeting, NDMA, GVWC, WARD C, NPAA, and the Ministry of Works and Public Assets unanimously agreed that the structures posed a grave risk to the pipeline and public welfare and therefore must be demolished without delay. The institutions further agreed on key operational arrangements to ensure a safe, coordinated, and seamless demolition exercise, which was successfully executed today.

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Speaking during the meeting yesterday, the Director General of the NDMA, John Vandy Rogers, emphasised the importance of strong inter-agency collaboration in safeguarding lives and protecting critical national infrastructure. He noted that the affected pipeline is of strategic national importance, supplying water to a large portion of Freetown, and that any damage to it carries serious humanitarian and public safety implications.

The Managing Director of GVWC, Mr Mariwan Kallon, described the damaged pipeline as one of the city’s most critical transmission lines. He warned that illegal construction along pipeline routes poses a continuous threat to water security and commended the swift cooperation among the institutions that helped to avert a prolonged water crisis.

The Chairman of the Western Rural District Council, Kasho Holland Cole, reaffirmed WARD C’s commitment to enforcing planning and development control regulations. He stressed the importance of community compliance with land-use laws to protect public infrastructure and prevent avoidable disruptions to essential services.

The Deputy Executive Director of the NPAA, Dwight Z. K. Sheriff, noted that sections of the Western Area Peninsula fall within designated protected zones. He emphasized that illegal construction in such areas not only damages vital infrastructure but also undermines environmental protection and conservation efforts.

On Friday, January 9, the Deputy Director General of the NDMA, Sulaiman B. Sowa, together with the Managing Director of GVWC, Mr. Mariwan Kallon, and technical teams from both NDMA and GVWC, conducted a joint field assessment at the site to evaluate the extent of the damage and the feasibility of demolishing the structures erected over the pipeline.

Senior management teams from NDMA, GVWC, WARD C, NPAA, and the Ministry of Works and Public Assets, along with security personnel from the SLP and RSLAF, were present throughout the operation to ensure that the demolition exercise was carried out in a controlled and coordinated manner. Following the demolition, excavation works will commence to allow for extensive repairs to the damaged main pipeline. Repair works are expected to continue throughout the day, with the hope that water supply to affected parts of Freetown will be restored by tomorrow, subject to the successful completion of the repairs.

The NDMA, GVWC, WARD C, and NPAA have strongly admonished residents particularly those along the Western Area Peninsula to desist from constructing buildings on or near critical national infrastructure, including water pipelines and other essential public utilities. Any structure erected in violation of established building regulations and right of way will be demolished.