12 Mar 2019

Jwaneng Town councillors have given the Sister City commission a go-ahead to consult with the Japanese Embassy on a twinning programme.

Deputy town clerk Mr Masiela Mandoze told a full council meeting recently that the commission met with the Japanese Ambassador with the interest to partner with any city in Japan on areas of agriculture, industrialisation and sport.

“We were referred to the Japanese Institute on Cooperation Agency (JICA) which offers consultancy and promotes cooperation between entities and Japan. The commission is yet to meet with JICA and present their proposal to the latter,” he said

Councillor for Masa-a-sele ward Mr Tsietsi Oodira-Kwenje advised fellow councillors to be patient when dealing with entities on twinning programmes.

“Partnerships such as these ones can also benefit our community in the coming years. Other councils such as Ghanzi and South East have benefited immensely from twinning programmes. Let’s be patient, stay focused for the benefit of our community,” said Mr Oodira-Kwenje.

Councillor Bankinyana Moitsemang of Ngami ward also shared the sentiments that the commission should go ahead and negotiate the deal with JICA, noting that the partnership could also bring some employment opportunities for Jwaneng and surrounding villages.

In 2014, The Jwaneng council signed a Memorandum of Understanding through the then Mayor Mr Amos Jahana and his counterpart from Peoria in the US, Mr Jim Ardis, to formalised the partnership,  which has since collapsed due to poor communication.

However, in 2018, the council made another effort to twin with Swakopmund Municipality, a coastal city on the west side of Windhoek, Namibia.

The Mayor Mr Obed Monkge said formation of strategic partnerships with other organisations was critical and the council should learn and get exposed to innovative ideas.

He said the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Namibian Embassy had acceded to their request to explore areas of cooperation with Swakopmund municipality, noting that JTC was working on the modalities of establishing a partnership with the Namibian organisation and a delegation was dispersed to go and explore as well as establish the possibility of the partnership.

“The exercise is centred, but not limited to, collaboration in the development of tourism initiatives, cultural exchanges, post mine planning, public health reforms, urban planning and local economic development,” he said.

Mr Monkge further highlighted that the short distance between Jwaneng and Swakopmund would enable the partnership to be sustained at a minimal cost and effort.

Swakopmund is the capital of the Erongo Administrative District and the town has approximately 44 725 inhabitants.

The city is situated in the Namib Desert and it is the fourth largest population centre in Namibia. It is also a tourist attraction site that attracts thousands of tourists every year due to its proximity to the Indian Ocean. ENDS