Aruna Turay, AYV News, September 17, 2025
Sierra Leoneans and friends of Sierra Leone will tomorrow, 18th September, 2025, hold a Public Consultation at the Freetown City Council Auditorium to discuss the proposed plans to divide Freetown and create two Local Councils.
The session, organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, will look in reasons as to whether the capital city is to be divided or not.
The proposal to divide Freetown into two cities has sparked intense debate, with proponents arguing it could enhance governance and urban management, while critics claim it would lead to administrative inefficiencies and exacerbate existing challenges.
While some see this as a step toward administrative efficiency, others believe it is a politically driven decision that could create more problems than it solves.
The Lawyers’ Society has raised serious concerns in a press statement, pointing out that the timing of this move coming before the 2026 national census is suspicious. They said such a major decision should be based on up-to-date data, not political calculations.
Mayor of Freetown, Her Worship Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr said the divide will have a potential negative impact on governance, urban management, and service delivery.
She expressed fear that dividing Freetown into two councils would worsen existing challenges rather than solve them, warning that dividing the city could exacerbate financial inequalities, making it harder for the east end part of Freetown to sustain its own council without adequate revenue streams.
The Mayor recommended for a focus on strengthening local governance through deeper decentralisation rather than fragmentation, adding that dividing Freetown contradicts legal considerations and data-driven urban planning principles.
The government said the plan is part of a broader effort to decentralise administration and improve public service delivery, claiming it would enhance governance and enable more efficient urban management due to rising population density and administrative pressures.
