C. Cyvette M. Gibson

Mayor Gibson in office at the Paynesville City Hall

Cyvette M. Gibson was appointed as acting mayor of the city of Paynesville, Liberia on November 14, 2012. As the youngest mayor to serve the position of city mayor in Liberia, Gibson has focused her administration on improving and empowering communities in Paynesville by providing infrastructure, education, access to employment and entrepreneurship, and basic services such as water, energy, sanitation, housing, health, and safety.

History

Born on December 2, 1974, Mayor Gibson is the tenth (10th) mayor of Paynesville, a city with a growing population of over 347,000 residents and over 300 city employees. Mayor Gibson has been a community advocate for many years, both as a government official and as a private citizen. Before ascending as acting mayor, Mayor Gibson served as chief of office for the capital city of Monrovia under the administration of then Mayor Hon. Mary T. Broh. As the Chief of Office, Madame Gibson, with the MCC team, successful accomplished transforming the nation’s capital from a city of debris to an immaculate metropolitan. While at the Monrovia City office, Gibson was instrumental in progressive programs such as the installation of portable toilets and demolition of dilapidated buildings left abandoned and bullet-ridden after the 14-year civil war; the re-enactment of City Ordinance Number One, originally passed in 1975 under the Tolbert administration and revised in 1988 under the Doe administration; Introduced a parking ticketing system; Enforced city ordinances to the letter; the Presidential Proclamation for First Saturday to ensure that Monrovia was clean at all times, renovation of the City Hall, implementation of the Emergency Monrovia Urban Sanitation Project, establishment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation project, erected the MCC Patio, networked the MCC Financial system, created data base to capture revenue/municipal taxes, developed additional city departments and services, vetted new City Police and employed over 300 casual laborers and acquired waste removal equipment.

Her love for community involvement has been evident through her previous service as a volunteer in various capacities on International Women’s Colloquium Secretariat, Liberian Girls Organization, The Angie Brooks International Center and several local community outreach programs.

Mayor Gibson has received many honors for her leadership skills and commitment to diversity. She was recognized in 2013 as the “Best Mayor of Year” by the Progressive Alliance of Liberia. She has also received 2014 Awards from the Paynesville Youth for Education and Development for Financial and Moral support given to the Young people of Paynesville. Under her guidance, the city of Paynesville has come undergone immense changes and has made strides forward .

Achievements

Mayor Gibson reads to students at the T-Five Academy Junior & Senior High School

Since becoming mayor, she has accomplished the following: Established sister city relationship with the City of Paynesville, Minnesota (USA) and the City of Bagcilar, Istanbul (Turkey); Implemented the City Ordinances; Implemented The City Beautification Project to help improve the image of the city and as an incentive to improve the sanitary conditions of the city initiated the "Cleanest PCC Community Award;^[1] Completed the ELWA Junction Beautification Project which curb the pollution and littering at the gateway of Liberia; Secured Compacting Trucks and garbage bins from TIKA of Istanbul to empower the city on improving waste and sanitation within the municipality: Provided training to drivers working within the municipality to be able to operate the compact trucks; Transformed the Red-Light District, the largest commercial district, by implementing and enforcing the waste management system; Employ over 50 people in the Red-light district who mans the area 24 hours a day; Successfully kept Tubman Boulevard, the major roadway leading into the capital city clean, Prevented illegal dumping of waste in various areas; Provide communities with legal garbage disposal point; Constructed fruit and vegetable stands throughout the city to empowered local market women to have a habitable area to sell their goods; Construction of water pumps and community latrines in communities; Established “Buy Your Dirt Stations” to lower the cost of the city daily waste collection

Mayor Gibson with Peter Jan Graaff (Head of UNMEER) in Gobachop, Redlight, raising Ebola awareness

and directly create opportunities for marginalized citizens to make a daily income; Enforced First Saturdays Clean-up in the city to encourage citizens participation in cleaning the city; Implemented a progressive accounting management system for accountability and transparency, which has help to increase the city revenue; Renovated the building and grounds of the Paynesville City Corporation; Established new departments in the Corporation (i.e., Environmental Health, City Planning, Community Services, Youth Focal Person, Special Projects and the Public Relations); Created Employee Handbook and a Human Resources Handbook; Created Job Description for all employees in the Corporation; Collaborated with Coca-Cola to create employment opportunities for 60 unemployed women; Conceptualized project for the youth of the city to create sustainable employment; Closing the gap on prostitution ranks in the city; Prevented illegal erection of structures in the city; Cleared alleyways by demolishing illegally built structures in main alleyway; Conceptualized the Paynesville Mapping Project, to create a cohesive mailing system, street names, and create a systematic approach for collecting taxes; Due to the lack of Playgrounds in the Municipality, Mayor Gibson hosted a bi-monthly movie night for kids, Conceptualized a Parks and Recreation Act to preserve the natural and cultural resources and values of the park system in the City of Paynesville; Enforcing the zoning ordinances of Paynesville to help segregate land use, and limit the density of development on each parcel of land.

Recent Achievements

• Completion of the A. B. Tolbert Motorcycle Hub: The first Motorcycle (Pehn Pehn) Hub was completed in November 2015. The hub located at A.B. Tolbert Road will relocate commercial motorcycle riders from the ELWA Junction, thereby promoting the free flow of traffic and creating a safe and clean environment. The A.B. Tolbert Motorcycle Hub will provide a reliable and organized environment for over one hundred-fifty (150) pehn pehn drivers and countless passengers. The goal of the Motorcycle (Pehn Pehn) Hub Project is to construct several hubs throughout the City that will provide a safe and organized shelter for commercial motorcycle riders. Each hub will consist of assigned parking, hand washing stations, garbage cans, and latrines.^[2]
• Completion of second Beautification Project at Duport Road Triangle: The Paynesville City Corporation completed its second Beautification Project at the Duport Road intersection. The Paynesville City Beautification Project was created to enhance the beauty in communities while increasing community pride. The project includes the renovation of parks and the rendering of the ELWA and now the Duport Road Junctions. Our core belief is that beauty is a silent but powerful force that has proven to be an effective method for making communities safer, healthier and more livable.^[3][4][5][6]
• Successful implementation of Operation Stop Ebola: Operation Stop Ebola was a community base awareness campaign in collaboration with UNICEF to fight the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). The campaign utilized over four hundred (400) community leaders to collect EVD data, promote sensitization awareness about the EVD and how to stop it. The campaigns also provided hygiene materials and implemented permanent hand-washing stations in communities.^{[7][8][9][10]}
• Successful implementation of Operation Stop Ebola: Operation Stop Ebola was a community base awareness campaign in collaboration with UNICEF to fight the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). The campaign utilized over four hundred (400) community leaders to collect EVD data, promote sensitization awareness about the EVD and how to stop it. The campaigns also provided hygiene materials and implemented permanent hand-washing stations in communities.^[11][12]

Mayor Gibson 2016 Awards

• The Mayor of the City of Paynesville during 2016 received a lot of accolades due to her tireless efforts in maintaining the city as well as her service to humanity in general. Her Lordship was awarded Mayor of the Year 2015 by the National Era Newspaper and the National Progressive Alliance Movement of Liberia on February 17, 2016 and March 4, 2016 respectively.
• For her outstanding contribution to youth development through sports and recreational activities, the Young Amojah Youth Initiative (YAVI) hosted the Paynesville Young Boys Soccer Tournament in her honor on August 6, 2016 and awarded her a certificate of honor.

Paynesville Joins 100 Resilient Cities

The City of Paynesville ^[1]has joined the 100 Resilient Cities network which will help the municipality to tackle challenges of infrastructure, poor health, flooding, and water etc.

As a member of the 100RC, Paynesville will gain access to tools, funding, technical expertise, and other resources to build resilience to the challenges of the 21st century. Mayor Cyvette Gibson said the city entrance into the 100RC network will help Paynesville fight the challenges of infrastructure failure, rainfall, flooding, water management issues, and poor health infrastructure and disease control. As the number of people living in urban areas grow from 50 percent today to an estimated 70 percent in 2050, cities around the world face huge deficits in preparedness for rapid growth and natural and manmade disasters. 100RC’s new member cities are joining an elite international group proactively preparing to face any challenge that lies ahead.

Education

Mayor Gibson attended the College of North West London and over the past 17 years, she has worked professionally in women’s empowerment, legal and city administration in Liberia and the United States. Mayor Gibson's motto, “Maintaining the Green”, has restored the City of Paynesville to a clean environment..

References

^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]}

1. ↑ "ELWA Junction Beautification Project Dedication Ceremony". YouTube. 2015-06-13. 
2. ↑ "Paynesville City Liberia Health Fair". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-09-29. 
3. ↑ "Legislative Stakeholder Meeting on PCC Decentralization Plan". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-09-29. 
4. ↑ "nationalchronicleliberia.com". nationalchronicleliberia.com. Retrieved 2015-09-29. 
5. ↑ "Liberian Group Commends Paynesville City Mayor". allAfrica.com. 2014-06-27. Retrieved 2015-09-29. 
6. ↑ "Paynesville Mayor, Police, Motorcyclists Dialogue | The Inquirer Newspaper". Monroviainquirer.com. 2014-04-22. Retrieved 2015-09-29. 
7. ↑ "Paynesville, Liberia City Mayor interact with Wash R&E". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-09-29. 
8. ↑ "Ellen Extols PCC Mayor". The Liberian Observer. Retrieved 2015-09-29. 
9. ↑ Liberia: Paynesville Mayor Extolled for 'Excellent' Performance
10. ↑ "Mayor Gibson honored in Uganda". See Liberia Clearly. Retrieved May 30, 2016. 
11. ↑ "Rockefeller 100 resilient cities". the Guardian. theguardian.com. Retrieved May 25, 2016. 
12. ↑ "PCC to host annual health fare". Bush Chicken. Gbatemah Senah. Retrieved September 8, 2016. 
13. ↑ "Anti-Ebola Revolution". The Africa Report. Billie Adwoa McTernan and Patrick Smith. Retrieved April 21, 2015.