Freetown Mayor Seeks Halt to Finance Officer's Year-End Transfer

Freetown Mayor Seeks Halt to Finance Officer's Year-End Transfer

Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown has formally requested the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) to immediately suspend the transfer of the Freetown City Council's (FCC) Finance Officer. The Mayor argues that the scheduled handover, set for December 30, 2025, would severely compromise critical year-end financial operations.

In a December 24, 2025 letter to the LGSC Executive Secretary, Mayor Aki-Sawyerr cited her statutory duty under Section 12(2)(h) of the Local Government Act of 2022 to safeguard the FCC’s financial management. She questioned the timing of the transfer, labeling the year-end as a highly sensitive period for institutional finance departments.

The Mayor cautioned that replacing the head of finance now would destabilize and undermine the council’s financial integrity.

She outlined several crucial, ongoing processes that would be adversely affected, including uploading the 2026 budget to the PFM Smart system, reconciling PFM Smart expenditure with cash books, reconciling MOPTAX and enforcement revenues, and preparing the 2025 financial statements for Audit Services Sierra Leone. Mayor Aki-Sawyerr’s appeal highlights the operational impact of administrative staffing decisions during key financial cycles.