Keen on lifting their relationship beyond its historical dependence on "aid", New Zealand Volunteer Service Abroad has sent two representatives to Buffalo City to investigate the possibilities of a future alliance.
Peter Rankin and Theresa Reid will be in the coastal city for three months; during this time the pair will work closely with the municipality to identify areas of potential mutual benefit. The two are no strangers to Buffalo City - they spent two years here from 2002 when Rankin helped to set up the City's local economic development department.
"I was also involved with developing the Revitalisation Plan that Buffalo City used in applying for a restructuring grant from the Treasury," he said. "Now I am back to look at the possibilities of a mutually beneficial partnership between New Zealand and Buffalo City."
While he was in the city, he would also look at possible links beyond the municipality and would focus on the City Development Strategy, a 20-year economic plan for the city. "I will look at business opportunities in the city and in the rest of the Amathole region."
Community involvement would also be investigated. "We might be able to build useful links between Buffalo City and New Zealand through non-governmental organisations, schools and service clubs like Rotary International. The possibilities are endless."
While Rankin will widen his scope beyond the municipality, Reid will focus specifically on the City's corporate services directorate, looking at how the partnership will help in terms of capacity building.
"I would like to see how a possible partnership will help within the municipality itself," she said. "I will look at things like staff retention and skills development."
When Executive Mayor Zintle Peter and her team visited New Zealand in March, they found much in common with people and organisations in Wellington City. Speaking about the similarities, Reid said both were coastal cities with great opportunities for growth in tourism.
"Buffalo City has great tourism potential. The City could initiate events that would be unique to [it], events that will encourage locals to take part and just go wild with their ideas on how to make such an event successful," Reid said, adding that Wellington had an event that had started small but that now attracted interest from as far afield as India and Japan.
While in Buffalo City, they would leave no stone unturned in their quest to establish a solid foundation for a possible partnership between the two cities, she said.
"We are not sure of the success of a broad partnership between the two countries, but we are sure that we can start some small links while here in East London. These can form a basis for the growth of a future partnership."
Reid said that by January 2008, they would have completed a partnership outline to take to South African and New Zealand agencies to stimulate that broader relationship.
Source: buffalocity.gov.za
Presentation for Seminar
