By Ibrahim S. Bangura
Freetown, March 13, 2025: The Sierra Leone Institute of Architects (SLIA) has inducted a new class of fellows, recognizing architects with over 20 years of distinguished service to the profession and nation. The investiture ceremony, held at the New Brookfields Hotel in Freetown, emphasized the critical role of architects in national development and the urgent need for stronger regulations in the building sector. The event brought together numerous stakeholders, including government representatives, civil society leaders, and industry professionals, all of whom contributed valuable insights.
SLIA President, Architect Manilius Garber, described fellowship status as a prestigious global designation that honours seasoned professionals for their significant contributions to architecture. “These fellows are no longer just members, they are recognized for their dedication and significant impact on the profession,” he noted.
Garber also expressed concern over unqualified individuals practicing architecture in Sierra Leone. He highlighted that becoming an architect requires at least five to six years of formal education and supervised professional practice. “Anyone who has not gone through this process is a quack. By the laws of Sierra Leone, they should be prosecuted,” he said, referencing the Architects Act of 1986, which legally protects the profession from unqualified practitioners.
Sierra Leone’s acute shortage of architects remains a pressing issue. Garber revealed that the country has only 37 registered architects, including trainees, stressing the need for a substantial increase in qualified professionals. “We need hundreds of architects, just as we need doctors,” he remarked. While he acknowledged the establishment of the School of Architecture at Fourah Bay College as a positive step, he noted that progress has been hampered by a lack of qualified trainers. “We need more professionals to train the younger generation,” he urged.
Addressing a common misconception, Garber clarified the distinction between architects and engineers. “An architect is the master builder who ensures the design and functionality of a structure,” he explained. “Engineers, on the other hand, specialize in specific areas such as structural integrity or electro-mechanical systems of the buildings, but architects bring all these elements together cohesively from the outset.” He said that members of these two professions often collaborate in the delivery of projects.
A key concern raised during the ceremony was the lack of organized urban planning and regulation in Sierra Leone’s built environment. Garber criticized the unregulated construction practices that contribute to overcrowding, unsafe buildings, and environmental degradation. “In well-planned cities like Dubai, architecture and urban planning go hand in hand,” he said. “Here, however, people build without guidelines, leading to building collapses and congestion in the hills.”
Arc. Abel Onomake, the Hon Secretary General of the Institute and one of the awardees of the Fellows category, echoed these concerns, emphasized that Sierra Leone’s infrastructure must adhere to professional standards to ensure safety, functionality, and sustainability. According to him, urbanization accelerates the need for architects to shape Sierra Leone’s built environment as a matter of urgency.
Arc. Abel T. Onomake commented that Sierra Leone is one of the few countries in West Africa that still lacks an operational National Building Code. He reported that His Excellency President, Julius Maada Bio, challenged and encouraged the SLIA in 2019 to articulate a home-bred building code. He remarked that the council of the SLIA responded by raising a committee to focus on the code which was finally completed and officially submitted at State House in 2021.
He reported that Freetown’s cityscape would have looked a lot more pleasant and orderly if there was a code to regulate the design/construction of buildings as well as control the development of both existing and emerging human settlements.
He criticized the growth of informal settlements all around the hillsides of the Freetown metropolis and the wanton damage to the environment through the indiscriminate cutting down of trees, blockages of natural water channels and uncontrolled stripping of soils on hill slopes for the construction of buildings that often lack such basic amenities as potable water, toilets, access roads and electricity. He opined that these are all the unfortunate harvests of unregulated construction activities.
Abel Onomake said he was very hopeful that the Building Code would become a reality sooner than later because a few years ago, the World Bank carried out an in-depth review of the code and identified areas of improvement. He noted that the government has recently given the completion of the code a new impetus and currently taking the necessary critical actions to finally do it for good. He said that, the new building code consists of key sections such as regulations, administration, enforcement, environmental issues, and building standards.
He also dilated on the training and mentoring of young graduate architects. According to Arc Onomake, they are required by law to undergo a minimum of 2 years of pupillage under fully registered architects, following which they will take a professional practice exam as a pathway to becoming qualified Architects as well as attaining the full (corporate) member category of the Institute.
Others in attendance included Arc. Ibrahim Yillah, a past President of the SLIA. The other awardees present were Arc. Mohamed Coomber, who is the current Vice-President of the SLIA; Arc Thomas Koroma; Arc. John Saad, a former Minister of Works; and Past Vice-President of the SLIA as well as Arc. Toko Macarthy.