Freetown City Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
New session started | May 2018 |
Leadership | |
The Mayor/Head of Freetown City Council | |
The Deputy Mayor/Head of Freetown City Council | |
Chief Administrator of the Freetown City Council | Festus Kallay |
Finance Officer of the Freetown City Council | Madina Bah |
Structure | |
Length of term | 4 years |
Authority | Local Government Act, 2004 [2] [3] [4] |
Elections | |
Last election | March 7, 2018 |
Next election | 2022 |
Meeting place | |
Freetown City Hall [5] Freetown, Sierra Leone |
Freetown City Council is the municipal government of the city of Freetown, [6] [7] the capital of Sierra Leone. It was established in 1893 and is one of the oldest municipal governments in Africa. [6] The Freetown City Hall, located on Wallace-Johnson Street, is the meeting place and seat of government of the Freetown City Council. [8]
The city of Freetown is politically divided into three regions: East End Freetown, Central Freetown and the West End of Freetown, which are subdivided into wards. Members of the Freetown city council, including the mayor, are directly elected every four years by the residents of Freetown and they represent different wards throughout the city.
Members of the Freetown City Councils are known as councillors, except the deputy mayor and the mayor, in whom local executive power is vested within the city of Freetown. The City Council, including the mayor, are responsible for the general management of the city of Freetown. The mayor carry out laws pass by the city council. The Freetown City Council is noted for having its own municipal police forces. The current mayor of Freetown is Her Worship Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE of the All People's Congress (APC).
All appointed members by the mayor must be approved by the Freetown City Council before taking office. Since its founding to present, virtually all mayors of Freetown are members of the Creole ethnic group. Freetown City Council politics has been dominated by the All People's Congress party (APC).
The Freetown City Council is one of the most powerful municipal government in Africa. its powers include, but not limited to:
Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It shares its southeastern border with Liberia, and the northern half is surrounded by Guinea. Covering a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi), it has a tropical climate, with environments ranging from savanna to rainforests. It has a population of 7,092,113 as of the 2015 census. Freetown is the capital and largest city. The country is divided into five administrative regions, which are subdivided into 16 districts.
Sierra Leone first became inhabited by indigenous African peoples at least 2,500 years ago. The Limba were the first tribe known to inhabit Sierra Leone. The dense tropical rainforest partially isolated the region from other West African cultures, and it became a refuge for peoples escaping violence and jihads. Sierra Leone was named by Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, who mapped the region in 1462. The Freetown estuary provided a good natural harbour for ships to shelter and replenish drinking water, and gained more international attention as coastal and trans-Atlantic trade supplanted trans-Saharan trade.
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and political centre, as it is the seat of the Government of Sierra Leone. The population of Freetown was 1,055,964 at the 2015 census.
Bo, also commonly referred to as Bo Town, is the second largest city in Sierra Leone by landscape/geographical location and the largest city in the Southern Province. Bo is the capital and administrative centre of Bo District. The city of Bo had a population of 149,957 in the 2004 census and had a population of about 233,684 based on 2017 estimate. Bo is an urban centre, and lies approximately 160 miles (250 km) east-southeast of Freetown, and about 40 miles (71 km) to Kenema. Bo is the leading financial, educational and economic centre of southern Sierra Leone.
Makeni is the largest city in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The city is the capital of Bombali District, and is the economic center of the Northern Province. Makeni is the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone by population. The city of Makeni had a population of 80,840 in the 2004 census and a 2013 estimate of 112,428. Makeni lies approximately 110 miles east of Freetown. Makeni is home to the University of Makeni, the largest private university in Sierra Leone. As with most parts of Sierra Leone, the Krio language of the Sierra Leone Creole people is the most widely spoken language in Makeni.
Koidu Town is the capital and largest city of the diamond-rich Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. The population of Koidu Town is 124,662 based on the 2015 Sierra Leone national census. Koidu Town is the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone by population, after Freetown, Kenema, Bo and Makeni. Koidu Town is a major urban, business, commercial and diamond trade center. Koidu Town lies approximately 280 miles east of Freetown, and about 60 miles north of Kenema.
The People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) is a liberal party in Sierra Leone. It is a breakaway faction of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). It was officially registered on 19 January 2006. The party is led by Charles Margai, the son of Sierra Leone's second prime minister Sir Albert Margai and the nephew of Sir Milton Margai. The PMDC is based in the country's second largest city of Bo.
Ernest Bai Koroma is a Sierra Leonean politician who served as the fourth President of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 to 4 April 2018.
Kenema District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Kenema, which is the third most populous city in Sierra Leone, after Freetown and Bo. Tongo is the second most populous city in the district. Other major towns in Kenema District include Blama and Yomboma. The district is the most populous district in the Eastern province with a population 609,873. Kenema District has an area of 6,053 km2 (2,337 sq mi) and comprises sixteen chiefdoms.
Winstanley Bankole Johnson is a Sierra Leonean politician who served as mayor of Freetown from July 2004 until he was ousted by the Freetown City Council on January 17, 2008 after several highly publicised controversies with the previous SLPP regime. Johnson was appointed mayor in July 2004 as a member of the opposition All Peoples Congress. Johnson came to power as the APC swept 2004 municipal elections.
Alhaji Samuel Sidique Sam-Sumana is a Sierra Leonean politician who was the Vice President of Sierra Leone from September 17, 2007, to March 17, 2015. Sam-Sumana stood as the vice-presidential candidate of the All People's Congress (APC) in the 2007 presidential election, alongside presidential candidate Ernest Bai Koroma. The APC ticket defeated the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) presidential candidate Solomon Berewa and vice presidential candidate Momodou Koroma. Sam-Sumana took office as vice president on September 17, 2007.
In April 1961, Sierra Leone became politically independent of Great Britain. It retained a parliamentary system of government and was a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), led by Sir Milton Margai were victorious in the first general election under universal adult franchise in May 1962. Upon Sir Milton's death in 1964, his half-brother, Sir Albert Margai, succeeded him as Prime Minister. Sir Albert attempted to establish a one-party state had the ready cooperation of the opposition All People' Congress but met fierce resistance from some cadre within his party Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) and ultimately abandoned the idea.
Sierra Leone is officially a secular state, although Islam and Christianity are the two main and dominant religions in the country. The constitution of Sierra Leone provides for freedom of religion and the Sierra Leone Government generally protects it. The Sierra Leone Government is constitutionally forbidden from establishing a state religion, though Muslim and Christian prayers are usually held in the country at the beginning of major political occasions, including presidential inauguration.
Sunkari Kabba-Kamara is a Sierra Leonean politician and the current mayor of the city of Makeni.
Sam Franklyn Gibson commonly known as Bode Gibson is a Sierra Leonean politician who served as Mayor of Freetown 2012 until 2018. He is a veteran politician and a prominent member of the ruling All People's Congress (APC).
Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a Constitutional Republic in West Africa. Since it was founded in 1792, the women in Sierra Leone have been a major influence in the political and economic development of the nation.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Bo City Council is the municipal government of the city of Bo, Sierra Leone's second largest city. The Council is responsible for the general management of the city. The Bo City Council was reestablished in 2004 by the Sierra Leone Parliament under the Sierra Leone Local Government Act The Bo City Council meet at the Bo City Council Hall on Coronation Field Road in Bo, Sierra Leone.
Yvonne Denise Aki-Sawyerr, OBE is a Sierra Leonean politician and finance professional, who is serving as the current mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital and largest city; she assumed office on 11 May 2018. Prior to becoming head of the Freetown City Council, Aki-Sawyer had worked extensively in the UK financial and professional services industry. She had also taken either pioneering or crucial roles in various charity and public service projects in the UK and Sierra Leone, including participation in the fight against Ebola in 2014 and the subsequent recovery initiatives.
Nancy Dolly Victoria Steele (1923–2001), was a Sierra Leonean politician and labour activist. Steele was a member of the APC political party in Sierra Leone.
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