China boosts efforts by Freetown City Council to keep city clean

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 5 November 2019:

Yesterday, a delegation from the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone, donated 20 solar-street lightings and fittings, as well as smaller indoor and outdoor solar lightings to the Freetown City Council (FCC) to help ease electricity difficulties faced by residents across the capital.

The items donated will go towards prizes set aside by the council for the winners of the Freetown Cleanest Zone Competition which is underway.

According to the City Council, its staff are now assessing the winners of the competition, based on their successful reduction of garbage as well as increase in vegetation in public spaces and surroundings.

The area of Freetown that wins the competition will receive 250 metres of paved road made from recycled plastic, a 10,000 liter water tank, scholarships for 10 children, and 10 of the solar-street lights donated by the Embassy of China.

The council is urging residents to keep their surroundings clean if their community is to stand any chance of winning the Freetown Cleanest Zone Competition.

The items donated by the Chinese were presented to the Mayor – Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr in the presence of the council’s Chief Administrator, local councillors and staff of FCC.

FCC says that the donation comes as a result of a promise by the Ambassador of China to Sierra Leone, Hu Zhangliang, made to the Mayor of Freetown last August, when he paid her a courtesy call.

“Impressed with the concept of the Cleanest Zone Competition – rewarding communities that make significant improvement in sanitation with infrastructure development – Ambassador Hu Zhangliang promised that he would support in any way he could.

“FCC is grateful for the donation as the 20 solar street lights will last the next two cycles of the Cleanest Zone Competition. The smaller solar lights will go towards lighting of green public spaces. FCC looks forward to continued collaboration with the people of China and its representatives at the Embassy of China in Sierra Leone,” Freetown City Council said yesterday.