Sister Cities as Economic Development Tool

Melanie Veness:  PCB CEO

I have just been speaking to an inspiring gentleman named Dennis about ICT connectivity in South Africa and a Korean-funded ICT project in Edendale, the township on the city's doorstep. The conversation immediately brought to mind the Sister Cities conference that I was invited to in Atlanta in 2006, mainly because of the strategic way that Atlanta set about establishing relationships with cities that could benefit them economically. 

Pietermaritzburg was developing ties with Atlanta, with a view to formalising a sister-city relationship, and a delegation was put together to attend. In the end, only Phil Mashoko (fomer strategic executive manager for Infrastructure) and I went. I was amazed to learn that Atlanta has 18 sister cities and over the two days, I came to see how strategically these relationships were developed, and how beneficial they are.

I learnt that when properly managed, sister-city relationships unlock economic potential and opportunities that could not be exploited without exposure to other cities’ strategies. I saw that city partnerships promote cultural, academic and technical exchanges, laying a solid foundation for business development, and that through these partnerships, one is able to gain knowledge of successful economic development practices. You are also able to gain a better understanding of international marketplace conditions. It was obvious that they facilitated extended relations with third party cities – one of the speakers indicated that there is a Greek saying that, literally translated, means “the friend of my friend is two times my friend”.

It was patently obvious that these sister-city relationships benefit cities in direct proportion to the effort that is invested in strengthening the relationships.  Atlanta has a highly focused approach. They set up The Atlanta Sister Cities Commission (ASCC),  a Public-Private-Partnership that maintains a vigorous programme of exchange activities with sister cities. The relationship is not limited to a relationship between the mayors and city officials, but through the Commission, there is strong alignment between the cities universities and chambers of business, for example. They stressed that it was important that the Commission be citizen-based, so as to ensure continuity beyond the session of political leadership.

So, it seems, that in order to ensure that existing sister-city relationships bear fruit, and that strategic relationships are developed, an active and dynamic Sister Cities Commission is imperative. Put differently, the value of effective sister-city relationships is too important not to investigate ways to strengthen these mechanisms.

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