Sunday May 14 was another defining moment in the politics of our motherland when the ever- vibrant APC New Jersey hosted the Mayor of Freetown, Mrs. Yvonne Aki-Sawyer in a patriotic open-field town hall-like meeting at Somerset, New Jersey. The Mayor is in the U.S. to attend meetings at the United Nations.
THE MAYOR FLANKED ON LEFT BY APC SENIOR ADVISER WILFRED LEEROY KABS-KANU AND RIGHT BY ANOTHER SENIOR ADVISER HADJA KADI SACCOH
The Mayor, who is a very popular and iconic figure among Sierra Leoneans in the U.S, eloquently gave New Jerseyans a mouthful of all her achievements , which drew a lot of applause from the crowd ; and enumerated her troubles with the ruling SLPP government for doing her job and warned very strongly that Sierra Leone is sliding into a dangerous and full -scale dictatorship and quagmire worse than the rebel war under the totalitarian and politically -abusive leadership of President Maada Bio. She advised Sierra Leoneans to get together and report the excesses of President Bio and his government to the U.S. Congress and the international community for the love of their nation, before it is too late.
Among her achievements were the planting of trees in the Municipality to mitigate environmental damage and disaster.
Also, since she was elected in 2018, she has been able to significantly increase the payment of property rates . Before she became Mayor, most property owners were not paying rates. To maximize the system, she introduced a digital system and was able to increase payment of property rates by 70%. There were only 37, 000 properties in the data base, but through diligent work she increased it to 120,000 properties , thereby increasing the City’s revenue potentials ten times. The SLPP Government, displeased by her achievements, told the city residents to stop paying property rates. However, she said that when something is good, it is good and cannot be disrupted. The World Bank now wants the same system rolled out in other cities in the country.
CROSS-SECTION OF SIERRA LEONEANS AT THE MEETING
THE MAYOR ADDRESSING THE MEETING
The Mayor gave a comprehensive presentation of how much she has moved things in a positive direction in the Freetown municipality
The Mayor received a plaque of appreciation from President Alimamy Turay on behalf of APC New Jersey.
The Mayor also outlined all the subterranean schemes President Bio is presently employing to deter the functioning of an opposition party in Sierra Leone as well as thwart any hope the APC ever has of returning to power in Sierra Leone. She warned repeatedly that the U.S authorities and the international community need to know what is going on in the national interest.
COCORIOKO and SIERRACAST TV will bring you the full report soon. Stay tuned.