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Thupeyo Muleya-Beitbridge Bureau
Beitbridge Rural District Council in Zimbabwe and Vhembe District Council in Limpopo Province in South Africa have rekindled their twinning agreement following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last year.
The move paves the way for the two councils to cooperate on a number of areas that will stir economic development on both sides of the border under the Trans-Limpopo Spatial Development Area.
The two local authorities share a number of cross-cutting challenges that come with their geographical location.
It is understood that principals from the two councils revisited the agreement following the conclusion of elections in the two countries that were held last year and this year.
So far, the councils have agreed on the setting up of a joint planning council to integrate a seven-point action plan drafted by technocrats from both sides.
Twinning talks that started a few years ago were temporarily stalled during the Covid-19 era only to be revived last year leading to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Beitbridge Rural District Council’s acting chief executive officer, Mr Peter Ncube said authorities from the two councils recently met to map the way forward.
“We are now translating this mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation into action and a few days ago we met in South Africa to introduce the new policymakers to each other following the elections that were held in Zimbabwe (2023) and South Africa this year,” said Mr Ncube.
“These two local authorities recognise the spirit of a framework of cooperation in order to enhance the common aspirations of our people and hence we are now hard at work.
“This year, we managed to exhibit together at the Sanganai/Hlanganani in Zimbabwe and we also attended the Limpopo Tourism Summit together. Our technocrats have come up with a joint action plan to stir development and service delivery in our council areas,”
He said they had agreed to facilitate sustainable development of the natural and cultural resources, optimise economic opportunities and promote the local authorities as unique agricultural hubs.
Other cooperation areas include sharing information on spatial planning, road, communicable diseases, disaster and fire management and promoting research and development in areas of interest.
Mr Ncube said they had set a target to achieve their strategic objective in the next three years.
Online Reporter