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The Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, held a meeting with a delegation from the World Bank, led by Franz Drees-Gross, the West Africa Regional Director for Infrastructure.
The delegation, which also included Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist Francis Samson Nkoka and PIU Lead Anthony Koroma, visited two sites associated with initiatives funded by the World Bank’s Resilient Urban Sierra Leone Project (RUSLP).
The RUSLP-supported initiatives include FreetownTheTreeTown, the review of the Freetown Structure Plan, and the upgrading of three informal settlements (Moyiba, Coconut Farm, and Portee Rokupr) in the eastern part of Freetown.
The project includes the construction of 3.7 km of roads, 7.72 km of drainage, the installation of 355 streetlights, 44 water points, and the provision of sanitation facilities, steps, and walkways to improve access in these vulnerable communities.
In this context, the delegation visited the Moyiba community on 6th November 2024 to assess the challenges faced by the informal settlement and explore how the planned upgrades will transform the area and improve the lives of its residents.
“We visited Moyiba to see firsthand the challenges in the settlement and to understand how the upgrade interventions will transform the community,” Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr stated.
Additionally, the delegation visited Tower Hill, Guma Compound on Wesley Street, where 1,000 trees were planted with funding from RUSLP.
Zakiatu, a young woman working with FEDURP (the community-based organization managing catchment 3), shared insights into the digital tracking of the trees. She showed the delegation trees planted in 2021 that are now over three meters high.
As of now, a total of 13,700 trees have been planted, including those in the Tower Hill Guma Compound.
The visit concluded with a two-hour meeting at the office, where the World Bank delegation expressed appreciation for the commitment of the Freetown City Council (FCC) team in delivering these World Bank-funded initiatives under the “Transform Freetown – Transforming Lives” program.
