According to bank documents, the project objective is to: (i) improve urban management in select cities, (ii) increase access to services and resilient34 infrastructure in Greater Freetown, and (iii) enhance local and national capacity for emergency preparedness and response.

The project has four components:

1. Component 1: Support to Greater Freetown (US$45 million, of which US$35 million IDA and US$10 million GEF36),

   1. Subcomponent 1a: Strengthening Urban and Disaster Risk Management in Greater Freetown (US$2 million): This sub-component supports actions aimed at institutionalizing and strengthening capacity in areas related to: (i) enhanced municipal finance and own-source revenue management; (ii) planning and managing municipal investments; (iii) building capacity to integrate local economic development into municipal management; (iv) disaster and climate
      resilient planning and investments; (v) participatory planning; and (vi) integrated planning in Freetown and Western Area Rural District.37 Select technical assistance and consulting services have been identified and agreed to be integrated in the Project Preparation Advance Activities (PPA).

   2. Subcomponent 1b: Investments in Municipal Services and Resilient Infrastructure in Greater Freetown (US$23 million): This subcomponent aims to improve basic infrastructure and services in Greater Freetown. The focus will be on investments identified as contributing to disaster risk reduction and prevention as well as having positive social and economic impacts at the local levels including in low-income communities. The Project proposes the consolidation of the
      types of investments around (i) urban upgrading for flood and landslide reduction in unplanned settlements, and (ii) plot servicing for residential development: while in-situ upgrading is one intervention to improve the living conditions in existing informal urban settlements, forward planning is essential to prevent new disaster risks caused by settlements in high risk areas and without adequate infrastructure.

   3. Subcomponent 1c. Solid Waste Management (US$20 million). Through this subcomponent, the Project will finance the construction of a new sanitary landfill that will service the residents of the CoF and its neighboring Western Area Rural district. Two potential sites (Masantigie and Old Yams Farms) have been proposed for the landfill. Both sites are undeveloped and accessible from Freetown and are deemed potentially suitable for waste-related infrastructure. Final
      site qualification will require full environmental and social diligence, which will be conducted under the Project.

2. Component 2: Support to Select Secondary Cities (US$6 million IDA). Strengthening Urban and Disaster Risk Management Capacities for City Councils: The Project aims to support the secondary cities to develop their capacity to catalyze their development potential, by supporting activities to strengthen these cities’ urban management capabilities that are critical for efficient delivery and sustainable management of resilient infrastructure and services. This component will support a range of targeted technical assistance and capacity development activities for selected City Councils among the country’s six secondary cities, to deliver on their respective mandates.

3. Component 3: Strengthening Disaster Data Collection and Emergency Preparedness and Response (US$6 million IDA).

   1. Subcomponent 3a: Disaster Resilience Data Lab (US$2 million). This sub-component will support data collection, management and sharing through partnerships (between national and local government institutions, local universities, the private sector and communities) and capacity building programs to harness technology and foster innovation to strengthen climate and disaster resilience in Sierra Leone. The subcomponent’s aim will be to: i) provide integrated solutions for data collection and management for resilient urban planning and disaster risk management, with the aim to support the plementation of the proposed Project in the short term; ii) enhance government capacity to understand and integrate disaster risk management, particularly related to hazard and exposure mapping, risk modeling, climate impacts and emergency response planning; and iii) provide students and community members hands-on training and experience in data collection and management, which could enhance future job opportunities.

   2. Subcomponent 3b: Strengthening Emergency Preparedness and Response Systems (US$4 million). This subcomponent will build the capacity of the national and local government in emergency preparedness and response, to be better prepared for and recover from disasters and enhance effectiveness and efficiency of response through investment in, inter alia equipment, training, operational plans, critical infrastructure and facilities. Activities under this component would draw on an emergency preparedness and response capacity assessment currently being conducted with the ongoing World Bank Freetown Emergency Recovery Project (FERP). Preliminary discussions with the Government have led to the following priorities: (i) development of a National Integrated Emergency Response Plan; (ii) support to the establishment of the new DRM Agency,42 including procurement of equipment, training, contingency planning and budgeting, strategy formulation, etc. (iii) construction and operationalization of a National and/or provincial Emergency Operation Centers; and (iv) improving fire and rescue response capacity for the Freetown Fire and Emergency Services Department.
4. Component 4: Project Management (US$6 million, of which US$3 million IDA and US$3 million Recipient contribution). This component would finance project management costs of the Project Coordination Unit and the PFMU, for staffing, monitoring and evaluation including project technical audits (as needed) and mid-term and end-project evaluations, safeguards, financial management, procurement and training. This component will also cover any costs related to the set-up of a Grievance Redress Mechanism, as well as the development and implementation of a digital platform in which citizens can access the status of activities funded under the Project and provide feedback. Counterpart financing will be also used for project management as well as for the implementation of safeguards instruments, including resettlement compensation, if required.
5. Component 5: Contingent Emergency Response Component (US$0 million IDA). The Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC), if activated, will enable rapid reallocation of uncommitted and undisbursed funds from the other Components to finance immediate emergency recovery needs in the event of the occurrence of an eligible crisis or emergency, and following the Government request. This component is designed to enable rapid access to funds for response and recovery purposes under streamlined procedures for procuring goods, works, and services. This component can either have no funding allocation initially and draw resources from other expenditure categories at the time of its activation or a set amount of funding allocated up front. This will be discussed and agreed with the government during project preparation. The main government counterpart for this sub-component will be the Office of National Security (ONS).

World Bank Group Financing
International Development Association (IDA) 50.00
IDA Grant 50.00
Non-World Bank Group Financing
Counterpart Funding 3.00
Borrower/Recipient 3.00
Trust Funds 10.00
Global Environment Facility (GEF) 10.00

World Bank:
Tiguist Fisseha, Robert Curle Jesse Reid
Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist

Borrower:
Sierra Leone (Through its Ministry of Finance)
Jacob Jusu Saffa
Minister
info@mofed.gov.sl

Implementing Agencies:
Freetown City Council
Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr
Mayor
yvonne.aki.sawyerr@fcc.gov.sl

Local Government Finance Department in Ministry of Finance
Adams Kargbo
Director for Fiscal Decentralization Unit
adamsk_23222@yahoo.com

Office of National Security
John Vandy Rogers
Director
johnvandyrogers@yahoo.com

Western Area Rural District Council
Kasho Holland
Chairman
kashohollandcole@gmail.com 

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF WORLD BANK

The World Bank Inspection Panel is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by a World Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Inspection Panel, they may investigate to assess whether the World Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can contact the Inspection Panel or submit a complaint by emailing ipanel@worldbank.org. You can learn more about the Inspection Panel and how to file a complaint at: http://ewebapps.worldbank.org/apps/ip/Pages/Home.aspx.