By: Zacharia Jalloh, Ministry of Information and Civic Education
The Ministry of Information and Civic Education has concluded a series of town hall engagements in the Western Area Rural District aimed at sensitizing citizens on the ongoing redistricting process and the upcoming 2026 National Population and Housing Census.
The engagements, which are part of the Ministry’s nationwide civic education drive, sought to ensure that citizens are fully informed and carried along on two major national exercises that will shape governance and development planning.
The first town hall was held on October 20, 2026, at Waterloo, the district headquarter town. The meeting brought together key stakeholders and a cross-section of residents for extensive discussions on redistricting and the census.
Present at the Waterloo engagement were the Chairman of the Western Area Rural District Council, the Minister of Local Government and Community Affairs, the Minister of the Western Area, and the Director of Communications for Statistics Sierra Leone.
Addressing residents, the speakers explained the Government’s proposal for the creation of two newly created districts carved out of the East and Southern region, the creation of additional councils in both Western Urban and Western Rural, and the proposed creation of Lungi as a City.
They noted that the reforms are geared towards bringing governance closer to the people, ensuring equitable resource allocation, improving service delivery, and addressing the rapid population growth in the Western Area.
The second leg of the engagement was held on October 27, 2026, at the Tokeh Community Center, where similar issues were deliberated upon. Stakeholders reiterated the importance of citizen participation and understanding in both processes.
According to officials from Statistics Sierra Leone, the 2026 National Population and Housing Census is scheduled to commence on December 1st, 2026, and will provide critical data for national development planning, constituency/district delimitation, and effective implementation of government policies.
Meanwhile, the redistricting proposal is currently before Parliament for deliberation and approval.
For the Ministry of Information and Civic Education, the town hall meetings form part of its mandate to deepen civic consciousness and ensure that no citizen is left behind in major national decision-making processes. Residents who participated in the engagements welcomed the initiative, describing it as timely, and called for more such dialogues at community level.
Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, Sierra Leone
©Ministry of Information and Civic Education
