BEITBRIDGE and Musina municipalities should take the lead in the fight against xenophobia,
the Mayor of Musina, Councillor Nkhanedzeni Godfrey Mawela has said.
He said it was folly to allow people living in the inner parts of South Africa to show those who
live in the Limpopo Province closer to Zimbabwe how to co-exist with their brothers separated
from them by a colonial boundary.
Mawela was addressing journalists recently during the inaugural meeting of the two
municipalities whose twinning arrangements was concluded in October last year.
We will not allow people from Johannesburg to lead us on how we should co-exist with our
brothers from Zimbabwe. We are one people and the twinning arrangement today marks the start
of a fight against xenophobia, he said.
With this twinning we must be able to demonstrate the power of co-existence and that there is
more we can do together as a people. Our people in both areas of Musina and Beitbridge are
predominantly Venda and we share similar things and culture. We must build synergies to make
our towns grow in every aspect, said Mawela.
He said businesses in the two towns should grow together and regular meetings between the two
local authorities were necessary to realise that growth.
Both Musina and Beitbridge are in the special economic zones of their respective countries.
Sharing knowledge will enable us to industrialist and grow. We have to make it work, he said.
Mawela said Musina would require water from Zimbabwe since the town faced an acute shortage
of the commodity.
The two towns would also build a joint cultural village on the banks of the Limpopo at the site of
the Dulivhadzimo Pool, a traditional cultural place commonly shared by communities of Musina
and Beitbridge.
Mawela, who led a delegation of politicians and executives from his town, said the next meeting
with Beitbridge would rope in businessmen from both towns, who shared a common consumer
market.
For their businesses to grow, said Mawela, the businesses should fight crime.
Musina is rocked by robberies targeting Zimbabwean shoppers, who are often held at gunpoint,
with most victims losing goods and cash.
In October last year Musina Police handled more than 100 robberies including incidents where
Zimbabwean Customs and Excise officials, Parks and Wildlife officers and several ordinary
shoppers were robbed in daylight scenes.
We need to fight that crime. We cannot grow under those circumstances, he said.
Beitbridge Mayor, Cllr Munyaradzi Chitsunge, said the twinning was a kinesthetic and opened
ways for development.
This arrangement aims for mutual benefits on issues of governance, infrastructure development,
education, skills development, sports, arts and culture. In December last year, the Zimbabwean
delegation visited Musina as part of the same programme, he said
Chitsunge and his local authority led their visitors on a tour of several projects including the
water plant, water source at Zhovhe Dam, a new Fire Station and the modern animal quarantine
to facilitate the commercial exchange of animals between the two countries.
Chitsunge said both parties should also use the twinning agreement to empower humanity to
better manage challenges and crises between the two municipalities.
The new development should promote peace, enable better organisation of human capital,
promote co-operation, and encourage cultural development.
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