Outcome of the Municipal Partnership between Aschaffenburg and Bo

Solar power system on Bo City Hall successfully commissioned

Mr. Kobba Musa, Mayor of Bo.

The municipal partnership between the City of Aschaffenburg (Germany) and Bo City (Sierra Leone) is a joint development initiative that emerged from the long-standing cooperation between Commit and Act e.V. (CAA) and the Commit and Act Foundation Sierra Leone. The partnership was launched during an official visit by a delegation from Bo to Aschaffenburg and aims to strengthen the exchange of knowledge, experience, and good practices in areas such as water and energy supply, urban development, health, and social empowerment. The goal is to achieve sustainable improvements for local communities through dialogue and concrete projects. You can find more information on the origins of the partnership here.

A key outcome of this collaboration is the installation of a solar power system on Bo City Hall. With this project, we aimed to ensure that the Bo City Council can operate reliably and around the clock, a basic requirement that had not always been met in the past.

Mrs. Haja Halimah Lukay, Head of Urban Development in Bo, who has been involved in the partnership from the very beginning.

Why was this important?

Before the installation of the solar system, Bo City Hall frequently had no electricity. As a result, work could not be carried out on many days of the week, and important tasks—such as issuing property tax invoices—could not be completed. This led to revenue losses for the city and further worsened the economic situation.

In addition, the city relied on diesel generators to produce electricity—a costly and environmentally harmful solution that offered no long-term perspective.

What has changed?

Thanks to the new solar power system, the City Council now has an uninterrupted power supply around the clock. This enables:

• Efficient and stable working conditions for staff and administration

• Faster and more reliable services for citizens

• Lower operating costs due to the elimination of diesel consumption

• A step toward sustainable energy supply in line with SDG 13 (Climate Action)

Achievements according to the Bo City Council report

• A fully functional administrative building with significantly improved service delivery for the population

• A marked reduction in administrative costs, particularly due to lower fuel consumption and reduced maintenance costs for generators

• A sustainable, day-to-day operational management system

• Increased revenue generation through faster access to payment notices and registration certificates

• Continued use of an automated valuation model for accurate calculation and billing

These achievements demonstrate how fair and partnership-based cooperation between municipalities in different countries can bring about positive change, not only in technical terms, but also for public administration, the local economy, and the people on the ground.