Freetown City Council (FCC) has become a battleground over the last three years, especially regarding the ongoing tussle between Her Worship Mayor Yvonne Aki – Sawyerr and the council’s Chief Administrator Festus Kallay.

There is no gainsaying that the council has been abandoned to that state of affairs because the powers that be in Sierra Leone have been acting surreptitiously to keep the status quo in that manner so as to distort the good plan and service of the council’s Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, who happens to come from the embattled opposition party the All Peoples Congress.

Even though the Mayor has been complaining over the past three years of insubordination from the council’s Chief Administrator Festus Kallay, no remedy has been found to that heartrending and setback situation.

Instead the squabble between the Chief Administrator and the Mayor has continued unabated as if there were no people with wisdom in both the local and central governments that could bring sanity to FCC, at least for the good of residents of Freetown.

Over the years and in recent months we have seen and read several protest letters complaining about the behavior and attitude of the Chief Administrator towards the Mayor.

In one of the letters or reports, the Mayor herself stated categorically and explicitly almost all that have been transpiring at the FCC, particularly between Her Worship and the Chief Administrator Festus Kallay.

For the records, excerpts of the letter of the Mayor state: “The most significant challenge that has persisted in respect of the administrative functioning of FCC, and about which I wrote to the Minister of Local Government on 12^th November 2018 with the Chairman Local Government Service Commission in copy is the practice of the CA to not speak to me, not answer my telephone calls and to not attend meetings that I convene for protracted period of time. In my letter of 12^th November 2018, I wrote ‘May I use this opportunity to inform you that the Chief Administrator has not communicated with me at all whether in person, by email or by phone since his return to the country on 21^st October 2018. As you can imagine, this situation has a detrimental impact on FFC’s ability to deliver services’.

”In spite of numerous attempts at mediation and resolution over the past 3 years, the CA has continued this practice and on four other occasions, the CA has chosen not to speak to me, not to answer my phone calls and to not attend meetings I convene for periods of between 3 to 12 weeks (in June to July 2020; in November 2020; in February to March 2021; from May 21 to date). These episodes of malice and avoidance are done in full view of all FCC staff, creating tension and division within the institution and negatively impacting on effective service delivery and staff welfare.

“I have highlighted this practice and the resultant negative impact of it in letters written to the Ministry of Local Government and/or the Local Government Service Commission dated 12^th November 2018, 1^st April 2019 and 2^nd July 2020 but did not receive responses to those letters. In an attempt to ensure that the operations of FCC do not grind to a complete halt because of this practice, I have over the years actively participated in mediation undertaken by stakeholders (FCC councilors, staff, members of the MDU (Mayor’s Delivery Unit) and external parties) on several occasions. I have continued to seek the collaboration and cooperation of the CA and I have repeatedly reinforced my willingness to work with the CA.”

While some attempts seemed to have been made by the local government authorities to sanitize the ugly situation at the FCC, it looks like it was all a window dressing approach as the recalcitrant and confrontational behavior from the Chief Administrator continues to gather steam.

Last Thursday 26 August this year, the Chief Administrator was interviewed by Radio Democracy 98.1 Good Morning Salone programme, where he continued to accuse the Mayor of ‘flouting due procurement procedures’ at the FCC, particularly hinging on the Transfer Station project as part of the sanitation improvement initiative of Freetown.

The claim by the CA warranted the Mayor to use the same medium or platform few minutes after to refute the claim by the CA and to state with clear instances where the CA took part or had been involved in all the meetings connected with the FCC’s development projects.

As this issue drags on, it is vital that the nation pays keen attention to how things are unfolding at the FCC for the good of all in the country, especially for residents of Freetown who would be mostly affected if things go badly at the FCC.

Forum newspaper looks forward to a sage and amiable ambiance of resolve to the challenge at the FCC, wherein all will be winners