By Sallieu S. Kanu
Freetown, Sierra Leone — July 26, 2025: In the aftermath of a devastating flood that claimed four lives in the Col Wata community, Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr visited the bereaved family to offer condolences and reflect on the broader implications of unregulated urban expansion in Freetown.
During her visit, the Mayor recounted her previous journey to the same area, describing its inaccessibility due to the absence of roads. Col Wata, like more than half of Freetown’s built environment, lacks basic infrastructure and planning—issues that she links directly to decades of unmanaged construction and deforestation.
Infrastructure Crisis
More than 55% of Freetown’s neighborhoods have no road access.
Waste disposal is largely uncontrolled, resulting in illegal dumpsites and pollution of waterways.
Emergency responses to disasters, such as fires and flooding, are hindered by the lack of access routes.
Environmental Impact
Hillside development has triggered massive deforestation, exacerbating flooding risks.
Destructive practices such as “banking” have destabilized land and destroyed mangroves.
Climate change compounds local vulnerabilities, with projections of above-average rainfall from the Sierra Leone Met Office.
Policy Gaps & Advocacy Mayor Aki-Sawyerr emphasized the absence of: Land use planning prior to construction; A robust building permit regimel and enforceable building regulations to prevent construction in high-risk zones.
The Mayor renewed her call for decentralizing these functions from the Ministry of Lands to local councils. She argues that the devolution of planning responsibilities would enable better municipal service delivery, zoning, and resilience-building for Freetown’s future.
Human Toll
Mayor Aki-Sawyerr mourned with Adama’s family, who lost four relatives in the flood—including a one-year-old child whose body remains missing. The emotional tragedy underscored her resolve to push for structural reforms.
She urged the national government to pass the land use planning bill currently in Parliament, create job opportunities outside Freetown to reduce urban migration, and invest in affordable housing in properly planned areas.
With disasters mounting both locally and globally—from Pakistan to Brazil—the Mayor stressed that Freetown must take bold steps to adapt to the climate crisis and build a safer, more sustainable city.