By Nasratu Kargbo
Former Mayor of Freetown Municipality Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr has announced that she will be running for the same position in the June 2023 election putting an end to suspicions over her bid to serve as the running-mate for the All Peoples Congress presidential hopeful Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara.
Aki-Sawyerr made this revelation on the 8th of March 2023, marking International Women’s Day, saying “On this International Women’s day, I am pleased to announce that I am running for reelection as the Mayor of Freetown”.
In a letter addressed to residents of Freetown, the then mayor had explained that the Minister of Local Government had in a letter dated 8th February 2023 instructed all Mayors, Chairpersons, and Councilors to “vacate” the local councils on the 1st March 2023.
In that regard, Aki – Sawyer last week handed over to Chief Administrator Festus Kallay the 3 decorative mayoral chains as a symbol of the authority of the office of the Mayor.
“I write to inform you that my tenure as Mayor of Freetown ends today. (For the record, this directive is in contravention of Section 137 of the Local Government Act 2022 which provides for local councils to be dissolved at the earlier of the dissolution of Parliament [25th April 2023] or the fifth anniversary of the first council sitting [30th May 2023])” a part reads.
She spoke of her project “Transform Freetown” and explained that Transform Freetown was about transforming lives, stating that ordinary Freetonians, market women, and street sweepers met her and gave testimonies about the jobs created during her tenure. The then Mayor added that the people explained their experiences of personal economic empowerment, growth, and development.
Aki-Sawyerr said that during her farewell event with the FCC staff, she had informed them that the council’s salary harmonization process had finally been completed, and a transparent system of salary bands that objectively reflect qualifications, experience, and length of service was being implemented for all staff from February 2023.
Expressing how she feels at the end of her term, she said “I leave office today grateful to have had the opportunity to serve, to impact lives, raise awareness about climate change, and design and implement interventions to address this major risk and other challenges in our city, and to develop and embed systems and processes at the Freetown City Council that provide a foundation for sustainable development”.
She expressed appreciation to the Former President for entrusting her APC Mayoral symbol for the 2018 election and to the party for their support. Aki-Sawyerr extended her appreciation to Councilors in the municipality and Staff, development partners both in the country and abroad, and the central government and to Freetonians.
Aki-Sawyerr called on Freetown residents and all Sierra Leoneans to be peaceful and democratic during the 24th June 2023 elections.
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