Supplement to the Sierra Leone Gazette …

1 ACTS upplement to the Sierra Leone Gazette ExtraodinaryVol. CXXXV, No. 14dated 1st March, 2004 THE local government ACT, 2004 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONSS ection I PRELIMINARY1. II ESTABLISHMENT OF LOCALITIES AND local COUNCILS2. Creation of Incorporation of local III COMPOSITION OF local COUNCILS AND ELECTION OFCOUNCILLORS4. Composition of local Period for Qualifications and disqualifications of Tenure of office of Oath to be taken by Vacancy in seats of Filling of Removal of Deputy First business of local IV MEETINGS AND COMMITTEES OF local COUNCILS15. Meetings of local Use of Standing Minutes to be prima facie Committees of local councils. PART V FUNCTIONS OF local COUNCILS AND COUNCILLORS20. Functions of local local councils to delegate Ministries to formulate Ministries and government Departments to consult local Joint committees of local Joint commercial government to delegate Chiefdom Councils to co-operate with local Chiefdom Councils to perform certain Duties of Remuneration of Councillors, Chairpersons and Deputy VI STAFF OF local COUNCILS AND ESTABLISHMENT OF LOCALGOVERNMENT SERVICE COMMISSION31.

2 local Council Chief Other staff of local Staff to be responsible to local councils .34. Assignment of Establishment of local government Service Composition of Tenure of office of members of Functions of Remuneration of members of Meetings of Committees of Secretariat of local councils to establish local procurement .PART VII FINANCIAL PROVISIONS45. Financing of local Grants for local Grants for devolved Basis of distribution of Grants for local councils administrative Councils may appeal to Mode of Establishment of local government Finance Tenure of office of members of local government Finance Remuneration of members of local government Finance local government Finance Committee to recommend grant Licences for trades, local councils and Chiefdoms to share local councils to determine local Sharing of mining Provisions as to licences local councils to have bank Investment of Power to borrow Writing-off irrecoverable local councils to prepare Use of VIII PROPERTY RATES69.

3 Property Assessment of Appointment of valuers and Assessment Valuation Lists or Objections to Valuation Lists or Rate Occupied and unoccupied Minister to issue Rates to be a charge on Levy on owners goods for non-payment of Levy on occupiers Proceedings in case of non-payment of rates. PART IX ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT81. Accounts and Auditor-General may disallow or Recovery of sums certified X INTERNAL AUDIT84. Internal XI DEVELOPMENT PLANNING85. local councils to approve development local Technical Planning Review of development Availability of development Development plans not to be XII BYE-LAWS90. local councils to make Uniform Validity of Copy of bye-laws to be deposited at local councils local councils to make bye-laws altering local XIII WARD COMMITTEES95. Establishment of Ward Functions of Ward XIV RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MINISTRY97. Ministry to inspect and monitor activities of local Ministry to Ministry to approve to take over administration of local of Provincial Coordinating and meetings of Provincial Coordinating XV TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND of Anti-Corruption of councils to take printing of revenue to be posted on notice to promote participatory processes in XVI INTER-MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE ON of Inter-Ministerial Committee on of Inter-Ministerial of Inter-Ministerial 12004 Sierra LeoneThe local government Act, 2004 Being an Act to consolidate with amendments, the law onlocal government , and to provide for the decentralisation anddevolution of functions, powers and services to local councils andfor other matters connected therewith.

4 [1st March, 2004]ENACTED by the President and Members of Parliament in thispresent Parliament of XVII of local councils in legal of title to be prima facie of properties of local of of publication of notices, of of of execution of on premises for purposes of this of Councillors and officers from personal penalty. PART XVIII TRANSITIONAL election of of of XIX XX SCHEDULESECOND SCHEDULETHIRD SCHEDULEFOURTH SCHEDULEFIFTH SCHEDULEvSection this 24th day of February, 2004 ALHAJI AHMAD TEJAN KABBAH, 1 local government Act2004No. 1 local government Act2004 PART I this Act, unless the context otherwise requires - Anti-Corruption Commission means the Anti-Corruption Commission established by the Anti-Corruption Act, 2000; assets includes moveable and immoveableproperties; Chairperson means a person elected in accordancewith section 11 or 125 and includes a mayor in thecase of the Freetown City Council; Chiefdom Councils means Chiefdom Councilsestablished under the Chiefdom Councils Act; Commission means the local government ServiceCommission established by section 35; Constitution means the Constitution of Sierra Leone ,1991; Councillor means a member of a local council; devolved function means a function performed byCentral government but transferred to local councilsunder section 20; elected Councillor means a member of a local councilelected under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) ofsection 4.

5 Elector means any person whose name is on anyRegister of Electors prepared in accordance with theElectoral Laws Act, 2002; financial year means the financial year of theGovernment; Inter-Ministerial Committee means the Inter-Ministerial Committee on local government andDecentralisation established under section 109; locality means the administrative area of a localcouncil and includes a district, town, city ormetropolis; local council means a local council established underparagraph (c) of subsection (2) of section 2; local tax means the local tax established under theLocal Tax Act; local Council Chief Administrator means a personappointed under section 31; local government Finance Committee means theLocal government Finance Committee establishedunder section 52; Minister means the Minister charged withresponsibility for local government ; Ministry means the Ministry responsible for localgovernment; ordinarily resident means the home or place where aperson normally resides and to which he returns afterany period of temporary absence; Paramount Chief Councillor means a member of alocal council selected under paragraph (b) ofsubsection (1) of section 4; transition period means the first four years after theestablishment of a local council under paragraph (c)of subsection (2) of section 2; ward means an area within a locality which isdelineated and designated by the National ElectoralCommission for the purpose of electing a Councillorto a local of1991 Act of2000 Cap.

6 61 Act of2002 Cap 63No. 1 local government Act2004No. 1 local government Act2004 PART II ESTABLISHMENT OF LOCALITIES AND LOCALCOUNCILS2.(1) Subject to subsection (2), the areas specified inPart I of the First Schedule shall be localities.(2) The President may for the purpose of this Act andacting on the recommendation of the Ministry, the Ministryresponsible for finance and the National Electoral Commission, bystatutory instrument (a) declare any area within Sierra Leone as alocality;(b) assign a name to the locality;(c) establish a council for the locality;(d) provide for the number of personsconstituting the council;(e) specify the place where the principal officesof the local council are to be situated; and(f) provide for such other matters as are requiredby this Act to be included in the instrumentor are consequential to it. (3)The Minister, the Minister responsible for finance, andthe National Electoral Commission shall, in making anyrecommendation, consider (a) the population and population density; (b) the geographical contiguity;(c) the topography;(d) future growth or expansion,of the (1) A local council, established under subsection (2) ofsection 2, shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and acommon seal and may sue and be sued in its own name.

7 (2) A local council shall have power for the discharge ofany of its functions, to acquire and hold movable or immoveableproperty, to dispose of such property and to enter into any contractor other III COMPOSITION OF local COUNCILS ANDELECTION OF COUNCILLORS4.(1) A local council shall consist of the number of personsprescribed under paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 2, madeup of (a) the Chairperson;(b) such number of elected Councillors from thelocality, elected by universal adult suffragein accordance with the Electoral Laws Act,2002; and(c) the number of Paramount Chiefs in a localityas specified in Part II of the First Scheduleselected by the Paramount Chiefs in thelocality to represent their interests.(2) Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) applies only tolocalities that have a system of paramount chieftaincy in terms ofsection 72 of the Constitution.(3) Every local council shall consist of not less thantwelve members. (4) A person seeking to be a member of a local council asan elected Councillor may present himself to the electorate as acandidate of a political party or as an independent No.

8 2 1 local government Act2004No. 1 local government to a local council shall be conducted every fouryears. 6. (1) A person qualifies to be elected to a local council if theperson (a) is a citizen of not less than 21 years of age;. (b) is on the Register of Electors and is ordinarilyresident in the ward in which he seekselection; and (c ) has paid all taxes and rates in that locality asrequired by law.(2) A person shall be disqualified for election to a localcouncil if the person (a) is employed by the local council;(b) will be unable to perform the functions of hisoffice by reason of infirmity of mind or body;(c) has been sentenced to death or imprisonmentfor an offence involving fraud, dishonestyor violence or has been convicted of anoffence relating to or connected withelections under any enactment, and has notreceived a free pardon;(d) being a practising professional, isdisqualified (otherwise than at his ownrequest) from practising his profession byorder of a competent authority;(e) is a member of (i) Parliament;(ii)the Armed Forces;(iii)the Sierra Leone Police;(iv) the Judiciary;(v) the National Electoral Commission;(vi)the Civil Service; or(f) is a (i) Paramount Chief.

9 Or a (ii)Chiefdom Speaker(iii) to this Act, a Councillor shall hold office for Councillor shall, before taking his seat in the localcouncil, take and subscribe the oath prescribed in the (1) The seat of a Councillor shall become vacant (a) upon the death of the Councillor;(b) if by writing addressed to the Chairperson,the Councillor resigns as a member;(c) if the person becomes disqualified undersubsection (2) of section 6;(d) if the Councillor is absent from more thanthree consecutive ordinary meetings of theCouncil without reasonable excuse andwithout informing the Chairperson; or(e) if the Councillor takes part in anydeliberations on a contract in which he has afinancial interest or votes on any decisionconcerning the disqualifi-cations ofoffice to betaken byCouncillorsVacancy inseats 1 local government Act2004No. 1 local government Act2004 (2) A local council shall, upon a complaint made to it thata Councillor is disqualified under paragraph (c ), (d) or (e) ofsubsection (1), appoint a complaints and arbitration committee toinvestigate the complaint.

10 (3) The complaints and arbitration committee shallconsist of such independent persons as the local council mayrecommend and as may be approved by the Minister.(4) The complaints and arbitration committee shall at suchtime as may be determined by the council, submit a report of itsfindings to the local council, which shall be made publicly availablewhen the minutes of the council s discussion are made available.(5) Where the local council, after studying the report,passes a resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of allmembers of the council to that effect, the member shall cease to be amember of the council.(6) A Councillor who is aggrieved by a decision of thelocal council under subsection (5) may appeal to the High Courtagainst such (1) Whenever a vacancy occurs among the electedCouncillors, a bye-election shall be held by the National ElectoralCommission to fill such vacancy within ninety days of the occurrenceof the vacancy, but if the vacancy occurs within a period of six monthsbefore the end of the tenure of office of the elected Councillor, nobye-election shall be held.