CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW
3.2 Concept of twinning agreements
3.2.3 Policy frameworks that inform twinning at international level
38 Outcomes of Trans-border Spatial Development Cooperation. Insights Musina and Beitbridge’s Twinning Agreement.
Figure 3.4 illustrates the questionnaire that is supposed to be utilised before signing any twinning agreement. Conell (1996) emphasizes the importance of answering or addressing all six questions in detail. Twinning frameworks and guidelines depend on the implementation strategy of the specific terms of reference of the twinning agreement. Similarly, Clarke (2011) pointed out that a lot of institutional arrangements in many cities do not have clear guidelines and frameworks to implement them.
39 Outcomes of Trans-border Spatial Development Cooperation. Insights Musina and Beitbridge’s Twinning Agreement.
civic leaders, they were exclusive, consisting largely of high-level visits between the twinned towns, supplemented by cultural and sporting exchanges (UNDP, 2000; 16). Nowadays, the objectives are likely to be much broader than traditional twinnings, and include:
Community development with a focus on meeting basic needs;
Municipal capacity-building;
Awareness-raising;
Development education;
Matters of governance;
Strengthening local democratic institutions;
Encouraging wider community participation.
3.2.3.2 The relationship between UN HABITAT and twinning
Sustainable cities cannot be adequately developed by individual cities, but can be enhanced through alliances of cities working together (UN Habitat, 2007). These can be between and among local governments, universities, businesses, non-governmental, community-based and international organisations .Whether through sister city relationships, twinnings, joint ventures or other cooperative initiatives, partnerships play a pioneering role in enhancing community interaction, finding solutions to shared problems, and using limited resources more efficiently, thereby promoting sustainability. UN-Habitat has been working with many other international organisations and associations of local authorities to encourage city-to-city cooperation, such as the World Association of Cities and Local Authorities Coordination (WACLAC), the United Nations Advisory Committee of Local Authorities (UNACLA) and United Towns Organisation (UTO) (UN- Habitat, 2005:1). It also manages a number of programmes aimed at local authorities and cities globally such as the Cities Alliance, which consists of a coalition of cities and development partners committed to address urban poverty reduction and the Urban Management Programme (UN-Habitat, 2004:4). Within the Cities Alliance programme for instance, Johannesburg in South
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Africa has formed a partnership with Addis Ababa within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
3.2.3.3 Southern Africa Spatial Development Initiatives towards partnerships In Africa, Spatial Development Initiatives (SDI’s) have been aggressively promoted to unlock economic potential in specific spatial locations through the crowding of public sector expenditure and private sector investment. SDI’s seek to strengthen trade relations, agriculture, tourism, communication, energy, minerals and upliftment in urban and rural areas (Buzzard, 2001).
Several SDI’s are underway or being considered, including the Maputo Development Corridor, Lubombo SDI, the Trans-Limpopo SDI, the Limpopo Valley SDI and the Okavango Upper Zambezi Tourism Initiative (OUZIT). SDI’s have arisen because of the need to concentrate limited state resources on the provision of hard infrastructure in areas with the highest economic potential and where leverage of private sector investment is most likely to be achieved. Sustainable economic growth is substantially dependent upon internationally competitive economic practice (Phillips, 2002).
3.2.3.4 Sister Cities International’s support towards twinning (USA)
Sister Cities International (SCI) is a United States based non-profit organisation which promotes peace through creating and strengthening partnerships between citizens of the US and international communities. It facilitates the international relationships of local communities and their governments. Its framework states that sister-city partnerships have the potential to carry out “the widest possible diversity of activities of any international program, including every type of municipal, business, professional, educational and cultural exchange or project” (SCI, 2003:2).The relationships involve not only the local governments, but also the local communities.
Sister Cities International has connected cities, counties and states (SCI, 2010).
3.2.3.5 United Cities and Local Government’s contribution to twinning (USA) The global organisation which represents local government throughout the world is called United Cities and Local Government (UCLG). A particular area of its growth has been the networking among cities and towns across regions and countries focusing on specific development issues (UN, 2004:51). UCLG was recognised by the United Nations as the official representative of local
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government globally and its importance to local authorities in the global arena was strongly acknowledged: UCLG believes that local authorities have been playing an important role in achieving global goals through city twinning and partnerships.
3.2.3.6 European Union as a twinning international institution
In Europe, twinning is a very important instrument in forging a united European Union (EU) and financial assistance is provided for this purpose by the European Commission (EC). During the 2002 meeting of European twinned towns in Antwerp, a declaration was made which emphasises the importance of twinning as a form of strategic alliance between communities on that continent (CEMR, 2002). For countries within the EU, town twinning is supported by various EU programmes, among them is the “Europe for Citizens programme” which is part of the union’s Citizens’ Policy focusing on the Union’s enlargement process. Both of those programmes will be described shortly to give an idea on how town twinning can be integrated into large scale programmes. The Europe for Citizens programme seeks to encourage European citizens to be actively involved in the process of European integration to develop a common sense of European identity and to enhance mutual understanding. Besides participatory citizen’s projects, town twinning is explicitly identified as a tool to achieve these goals. Town twinning projects which show a commitment to European integration which build friendships and which promote active participation among citizens are granted EU funds. In 2003 for example, 1328 out of 2136 projects were selected for the programme with most of them taking place in France (347), Germany (338), and Italy (175), EC (2010).
3.2.3.7 SADC Treaty as an international framework that encourages twinning The SADC 1992 Treaty is committed to a new regional community, reflecting the ‘cultural and environmental realities’ acknowledging that, “many people, land uses and natural resources have always transcended national boundaries in the region”. SADC supports the promotion of liberalised border policies that eliminate obstacles to the free movement of capital and labour, goods and services, and of the region’s peoples among member states. The treaty also states that policies and plans should be harmonised and the appropriate institutions should be created (SADC 1992a, Article 5).
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