16/10/2024
I was humbled and honored to receive the 2024 German Africa Award from Bärbel Bas, President of the Bundestag, Germany’s Parliament, during an uplifting and beautiful ceremony in Berlin this evening. The German Africa Foundation has since 1993, annually honored one individual from Africa who is considered to have made exceptional contributions to democracy, peace, human rights, sustainable development, research, arts, culture, or societal progress on the continent.
The selection of the award winner is done by an independent panel of 20 members and over two dozen candidates were considered for the 2024 award. I was awarded in recognition of my efforts towards sustainable urban development, exemplified by interventions such as the digitization of property rates, the planting and growing of 1m trees, the establishment of Freetown’s first wastewater treatment plant with circular economy benefits and an inclusive community engagement approach to governance.
As the 2024 German Africa Award winner, I yesterday met with Svenja Schulze, the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Katja Kaul, Minister of State for the German Federal Foreign Office, the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development as well as representatives of German business associations. Accompanied by Cllr Zainab Conteh, we had very productive and engaging discussions which covered the challenges of rapid urbanization, climate adaptation, the recently conducted feasibility studies for the Freetown Cable Car and job creation opportunities. I am excited about taking forward these conversations in order to harness additional support for our Transform Freetown – Transforming Lives Development Agenda!
I dedicate the 2024 German Africa Award to my teams, to our partners and to the residents of Freetown. This award is a recognition of our shared commitment and collective efforts to #TransformFreetown and #TransformLives.
