By Andrew Chokpeleh
Freetown, 29th January 2026- Tensions at the Freetown City Council escalated over allegations of sabotage and corruption, but Councillor Ibrahim Gbla of the SLPP has insisted that he and his party colleagues were not involved in the accusations leveled against Chief Administrator Rahman Tom Farma.
Gbla explained that SLPP councillors were neither informed about nor present at the recent press conference where the allegations were made. He noted that only APC councillors attended, despite the Council having 18 SLPP representatives.
He further alleged that Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr resisted the transfer of the Council’s Finance Officer because the officer had shielded her from scrutiny whenever funds were misappropriated. According to Gbla, the Finance Officer had even used tax revenues to provide loans to the Mayor and other officials, a practice he said undermined accountability.
Gbla argued that the Finance Officer was not the only staff member due for transfer, pointing out that similar moves had taken place in other councils nationwide. He claimed the Mayor’s opposition to the transfer was part of a broader effort to protect her interests.
The councillor also criticized the Mayor’s committee appointments, noting that of the 15 committees established, only one was chaired by an SLPP councillor, while the remaining 14 were led by APC members. He said this imbalance allowed APC chairmen to dominate budget and finance decisions, often in ways that served their party.
According to Gbla, the Chief Administrator sometimes refused to recognize such decisions, since they were made by a small group rather than the full Council. He stressed that while councillors were political representatives who would eventually leave office, the Chief Administrator remained accountable to the Anti-Corruption Commission for any financial irregularities.
Gbla accused the Mayor of reinstating the suspended Finance Officer by creating a new office for him after the Ministry of Local Government had locked his previous one. He described this move as disrespectful to the Ministry and the central government.
He urged councillors to set aside political differences and focus on serving the people of Freetown. He added that many of the Council’s problems stemmed from the Mayor’s refusal to allow an audit of the Mayor’s Delivery Unit — a special unit staffed by her appointees and responsible for much of the Council’s work.
Gbla said the ongoing conflict between the Mayor and the Chief Administrator was rooted in the latter’s insistence on investigating the Delivery Unit. He noted that the Ministry of Local Government had already recommended dissolving the unit to restore proper Council operations.
He concluded by alleging that most staff in the Mayor’s Delivery Unit had not been recruited through the proper procedures required for Council employment.
