The Ministry of the Western Region has held a two day exercise to support the development of Freetown and impacting the lives of its residents.

The crux of the two day exercise, which also involved field visits to informal settlements in and around Freetown is to build urban planning capacity of communities and key stakeholders to achieve sustainable urban growth and development.

The Ministry was represented at the workshop by the Coordinator of the Urban District, Mr Prince Gaima.
In his presentation during plenary, he shared the Ministry’s modus operation of seeking solutions to urban challenges from the people rather than planning on behalf of, and imposing solutions on them.

He also gave Madina and York as examples where this approach has yielded greater synergy within communities in the region.

The training lab is aimed at developing skills of key stakeholders in the region in urban planning and management with a view to transforming the city of Freetown for it people and the planet as a whole.

The Ministry noted that they stand ready to support any development intervention that is inclusive and promises positive impact on the lives of everyone in the region.