23/11/24
Following months of misinformation about and misuse of the Ephraim Robinson Municipal Primary School playground, a successful community meeting was held at the school this morning.
Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr was accompanied by Deputy Mayor Kweku Lisk, a cross section of FCC Councillors, the Chief Administrator, Head of Education Department, the Legal Office, the City Engineer, and other staff members. Also present were Aruna Sesay, Western Area Provincial Security Coordinator, ONS, and Samuel Simeon Sesay, Chairman, Local Police Partnership Board.
In a series of statements, it was clarified that the Ephraim Robinson Municipal Primary School is the property of and under the operation of Freetown City Council (FCC). That FCC has a policy of cooperating with any person or organization that wants to support development in Freetown. That Hon. Alfred Thompson approached the management of FCC, proposing to lay astroturf on the Ephraim Robinson Municipal Primary School playground and to then manage the playground as a commercial enterprise. That the management of FCC welcomed the proposal to have the astroturf donated to the primary school but rejected the proposal to commercialize the school playground under the management of Hon. Alfred Thompson.
During the meeting, various speakers further clarified that several attempts have been made by the FCC, the Minister of Western Area, ONS, and the Western Area Provincial Security Committee (PROSEC) to meet with Hon. Alfred Thompson. Hon. Thompson refused to attend any of these meetings but instead proceeded to build concrete walls with a raised wire mesh around the school playground. In doing so, he blocked access to the school playground for the children, effectively trapping the children behind the wall and the wire mesh. In the event of a fire or any other disaster, the schoolchildren could be crushed in a stampede, as they would not be able to get out of their classrooms and into the school playground with speed or ease.
Mayor Aki-Sawyerr used this opportunity to also explain to the community that the rumors about the school playground being sold to a church were completely untrue. She reminded the local imam of their longstanding friendship directly and through the United Council of Imams and reassured him that accusations that FCC would stop Muslim prayers from being held in the school playground were not true and were part of a bid to illegally take control of the school playground for commercial purposes.
Mayor Aki-Sawyerr reiterated the point that the school playground is first and foremost for use by the schoolchildren and that the safety of the children is of paramount importance. FCC will therefore remove the blockwork that is preventing the children from directly accessing their school playground. FCC will also remove the wire mesh in front of the school classrooms that have turned the school into a “prison-like” environment. The walls and wire mesh that are not blocking access to the classrooms (those facing the street) are providing security for the school and will not be removed.
The FCC management also made it clear that the school playground would not be commercialized for personal purposes. Support for the school’s development is welcome, but not at the expense of safety and access for the schoolchildren.
The meeting, which went on for almost 2 hours, was extremely constructive, giving community members the opportunity to ask questions and obtain clarifications from the mayor, other Freetown City Council representatives, and PROSEC members. Accusations about Mayor Aki-Sawyerr selling land at the Congo Town cemetery were also exposed as false. The meeting ended with an agreement for continued communication and collaboration between FCC and the Congo Town community as we all work together for the development of the school and the local community.
