By :Saidu Jalloh
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has partnered with the Freetown City Council (FCC) and the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) to enforce newly proposed sanitation bye-laws aimed at curbing illegal dumping, lawlessness, and indiscipline across the capital.
The decision was announced during a high-level meeting held on Tuesday at the Ministry’s conference room, where stakeholders agreed to establish a joint task force to drive the enforcement of sanitation regulations and strengthen municipal order in the city.
The collaboration marks a significant step towards restructuring Freetown’s waste management system into a safer, more efficient, and environmentally sustainable model. Under the proposed bye-laws, all households, businesses, and institutions will be required to register with and pay designated waste collection service providers approved by the FCC.
Speaking at the meeting, the Minister of Internal Affairs, AIG (Rtd.) Morie Lengor, Esq., said the engagement followed a formal communication to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. William Fayia Sellu, calling for the revitalization of the joint FCC-SLP Committee to address emerging municipal challenges.
Minister Lengor welcomed the partnership but raised concerns over persistent lawlessness and poor sanitation practices, describing indiscriminate waste disposal as “an eyesore and a growing threat to public order.” He stressed that restoring order in the city would require firm enforcement, strong inter-agency coordination, and practical solutions.
He further underscored the need for waste collection to be organized by blocks, noting that such restructuring would improve enforcement, monitoring, and accountability within the city’s waste management framework.
In his remarks, the FCC Chief Administrator, Mr. Raman Tom Farmar, commended the Minister’s leadership in launching what he described as a robust national campaign against lawlessness and public safety threats. He thanked the Ministry for its consistent collaboration with the FCC in restoring order in Freetown.
Mr. Farmar acknowledged challenges faced by waste service providers within the municipality but assured residents that the Council remains committed to improving service delivery. He announced plans for an aggressive public education and sensitisation campaign and appealed for the Ministry’s support in enforcing the new sanitation bye-laws, noting that the FCC cannot address the city’s sanitation challenges alone without strong inter-agency cooperation.
Presenting the draft sanitation strategy, the FCC Environmental and Sanitation Officer, Madam Marian J. Tucker, outlined proposals to divide the city into eight blocks, each further segmented into zones to enhance service delivery. She highlighted key provisions in the proposed bye-laws, including the regulation and branding of waste collection service providers, the introduction of digital identification and payment platforms, and clearer operational standards.
The meeting concluded with key recommendations, including sustained radio sensitization, targeted public engagement by blocks, and community-based outreach to build trust and encourage compliance particularly household registration for waste collection services.
Other resolutions included involving community leaders to reinforce public messaging, assigning a police prosecutor to the FCC to handle sanitation-related offences, finalizing the bye-laws for enforcement, and convening a follow-up meeting of the joint task force on lawlessness and indiscipline to advance implementation.