C. Cyvette M. Gibson

File:C. Cyvette M. Gibson.jpg

Official Picture

C. Cyvette M. Gibson was appointed as acting Mayor of the City of Paynesville 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, 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, 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.

Achievements

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; Completed the ELWA Junction Beautification Project which curve 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 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.

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.

Background

Mayor Gibson attended the College of NW 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 motto “Maintaining the Green” has restored the City of Paynesville to a clean environment.

References

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bw9tghncJM> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFQfVoWtLI4> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBdWu9lSmg4> <http://nationalchronicleliberia.com/news/politics/782/paynesvilles-mayor-commended/> <ref>http://allafrica.com/stories/201406301254.html/> <ref>http://monroviainquirer.com/2014/04/22/paynesville-mayor-police-motorcyclists-dialogue/> <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfcwI-nMZ5I/> <ref>http://www.liberianobserver.com/development/ellen-extols-pcc-mayor/> <ref>http://hintsnewsnetwork.com/?p=1774/>