THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has launched twinning arrangement discussions with City of Siping in China — in a move that would largely centre on investment on water infrastructure in Bulawayo.
Report by Nqobile Bhebhe
The initiative was mooted during a recent visit to China by Water Resources Development and Management minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo.
According to latest council minutes, the ministry, in consultation with the local authority, extended an invitation to council for City of Siping to visit Zimbabwe to explore the possibility of forging a sister-city relationship with Bulawayo.
During World Water Day commemorations in Victoria Falls in March, delegates from both cities met for talks.
Bulawayo deputy mayor Amen Mpofu and town clerk Middleton Nyoni interacted with the Chinese delegation which comprised of Yang Feng (chairman of Siping Committee of Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference), Liu Weizhong (managing director of Siping Municipal Water Resources Bureau), Xu Weimin, (general manager of Siping Joint-Cooperation Water Supply Company) and Meng Qingshan — board chairman of Siping Fangyuan Hengye Tech Ltd.
“During discussions with the City of Siping, the Chinese delegation had shown some interest in the twinning arrangement with City of Bulawayo, and appeared keen to invest in the city and to assist council, particularly on water-related infrastructure/issues. One of the delegation members was involved in the Gwayi-Shangani project.”
Recently, Umzingwane water catchment area — a zone where all Bulawayo supply dams Insiza, Inyankuni and Lower Ncema are situated, was declared a water shortage-hit zone paving way for emergency funding from the State and the donor community.
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Meanwhile, Bulawayo is also mooting another twinning arrangement with the City of Francistown, Botswana, with preliminary talks said to have started in December last year.
“The lower business levels being experienced in Francistown is owing to the improvement of the economic situation in Zimbabwe.
“However, taken up at a higher level business could grow in leaps and bounds as the relationship strengthens due to twinning of the cities,” BCC director of housing and community services Isaiah Magagula said.
Bulawayo has signed several twinning arrangement with local authorities in South Africa.
