MMC Approves $200,000 Grant to Improve Congo Market
By Desmond Isaac Macauley
Mayor Akie Sawyer on Thursday visited Congo Market with a delegation from the Mayor’s Migration Council (MMC) and a cross section of Councillors and staff of Freetown City Council. the three person MMC delegation, led by Mr. Samer Saliba, Director of City Practice at MMC, is visiting Freetown following their approval of a $200,000 (Le4,670,000) grant to the council.
The grant will fund the installation of a biodigester at Congo Market that will be fuelled from bio waste collected at the market. It will also support the rehabilitation and refitting of two public toilets at the market, which will provide liquid waste as fuel for the biodigester.
Additionally, the project includes the installation of a cold room at Congo Market to enable traders to store perishable goods, thereby reducing waste and improving incomes. the cold room will be powered by the energy produced by the biodigester.
Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr expressed excitement during the visit noting that, in addition to the MMC funded interventions, new market shade covers with solar lights would be installed at Congo Market starting Saturday, 25th October. these will replace the covers initially installed in 2022 but destroyed by storm in 2023.
She emphasized that, migration can be both international and internal, with Freetown hosting many rural urban migrants who became traders. the MMC funded interventions aim to improve the working conditions of these migrants while enhancing sanitation and building a circular economy that directly benefits women and youth.
