By Dr. Doma
The erstwhile mayor of the Freetown, Madam Yvonne Aki- Sawyer recently informed this medium in an exclusive interview that providing access to water in communities was a priority during her term in office as Mayor. She said that during the period she provided over 150 water points (i.e. water tanks, street taps or boreholes) across the city.
She revealed that an additional 65 water kiosks will be constructed in the coming months.
Madam Aki-Sawyerr also disclosed that together with the Chief Administrator (CA) at the FCC, Festus Kallay, FCC worked with UNOPS on a project to support an informal settlement community in Freetown and introducing the possibility of locating a waste to energy bio digester within that community that had significantlyaddressed WASH and sanitation challenges.
Madam Aki-Sawyerr dilated that her innovations in the city has created jobs in the city and also providing electricity and compost fertilizer for sale.
According to the erstwhile mayor, there is need to do more work as a combined team before confirming that FCC can incorporate the waste to energy bio digester into that project but is hopeful that this would happen, with significant improvements being made to the lives of the community residents.
“Our work and support of the Freetown Waste Transformers is ongoing as four to five other waste to energy bio digesters are already scheduled to be installed in Freetown later this year. On January 5, 2022, I launched the Waste Collection Management Association together with the HE Manuel Muller, Ambassador of the European Union in Sierra Leone. In 2019, FCC started the “Solid Waste Management through Micro-enterprises” with funding from the European Union. 60 tricycles and other equipment (wheelbarrows, uniforms etc) were were purchased and 600 youths were trained to become waste collectors. An osusu scheme was created to help them save funds to cover maintenance cost for the tricycles. Over the past three years, the model was replicated with funding from IOM (20 youth groups) and MMC (40 youth groups). They now serve over 50,000 households, a significant increase from the 3,000 households that were being served in June 2018,” she said.
“Today, young people totaling over 1,000 have organized themselves to ensure that their businesses grow as they contribute to the cleanliness of the city.”
Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr went on to reveal that the Chairman of the Waste Collection Management Association Abubakarr Sesay gave an inspiring statement that highlighted the impact on their individual lives as young people now working in the tricyclegroups initiated by Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr.
She continued that she is so pleased to see the growth and sustainability of this critical component of FCC’s Integrated Waste Management Value Chain.
She said she is aware that many Freetonians have never wondered where their liquid waste goes once their cesspits have been emptied, adding that it will surprise many of them to know that, until now, faecal sludge collected in Freetown ended up being indiscriminately released at the Kingtom Dumpsite. She enlightened that the faecal sludge seeped into the sea and nearby waterways, posing significant environmental and health hazards to the surrounding communities. She asserted that today she is thrilled to launch the first ever faecal sludge treatment plant in Sierra Leone as part of Transform Freetown.
She added that at the plant, the solid matter is separated from the waste water, adding that the solid matter would be used as fertilizer input and the waste water safely disposed of or used in other ways (eg. To put out fires in the main Kingtom dumpsite).
She went on to intimate that the project is a true testament of what FCC can achieve through partnership and collaboration for which she commended the Sanitation Team for a job well done