Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya
Beitbridge Bureau
The Municipality of Beitbridge is moving to expand its twinning arrangements across the SADC region as part of efforts to improve service delivery and strengthen cross-border cooperation.
Already, the municipality has twinned with Musina Local Municipality in South Africa.
This week, the local authority hosted a strategic bilateral partnership meeting with delegations from both Musina and Ongwediva Town Council in Namibia.
In a statement on Friday, Beitbridge Municipality said the primary focus of the visit was to review and benchmark the success of the long-standing twinning arrangement between Beitbridge and Musina, while also laying the groundwork for a potential twinning partnership between Musina and Ongwediva.
“The Municipality of Beitbridge was honored to host a courtesy visit from our neighbours, Musina Local Municipality (South Africa) and a visiting delegation from Ongwediva Town Council (Namibia),” the statement read.
Council officials said twinning arrangements provide an important platform for municipalities to benchmark service delivery through peer review and collaboration in key areas such as waste management, revenue collection, public health, infrastructure development and local economic development.
By learning from each other’s successes and challenges, councils can adopt best practices that improve governance and service to residents.
The arrangements open doors for joint training, staff exchanges, investment promotion and shared solutions to common border-town challenges like migration, trade facilitation and disaster management.
“Cross-border partnerships like these allow us to share vital knowledge, improve governance, and build stronger communities across Sadc,” the municipality said.
Leaders from the three local authorities agreed that strengthening regional ties is critical at a time when Sadc municipalities face similar pressures around urbanisation, climate change and resource constraints.
