Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Staff Reporter – MUTARE has won the Multi City Challenge Africa 2020 competition, beating cities such as Kampala and Accra to the competition.
The eastern border city, which was the only representative in Zimbabwe and the rest of Southern Africa, was battling it out against Kano of Nigeria, Kampala of Uganda, Accra (Ghana) and Bahir Dar in Ethiopia.
Mutare also became the first local authority in the country and the Southern African region to take part in this prestigious competition.
City spokesperson Spren Mutiwi said the council excelled in Urban Resilience and Informal sector categories.
“Thanks to all local authorities, citizens, residents, ratepayers, institutions of higher learning and media in marketing the Multi City Challenge Africa competition. The award is for us all,” said Mutiwi.
Multi City Challenge Mutare coordinating committee chairperson, Kimberly Sithole said the city`s involvement in the competition was very significant in showcasing the Zimbabwean brand at an international stage.
“We are raising the Zimbabwean flag high since we were selected ahead of other cities like Johannesburg, Lusaka, Maputo and others,” Sithole said.
The competition seeks to unveil solutions for urban life challenges affecting local authorities dotted around the African continent.
The Multi City Challenge Africa, which is a built up to implementation of the Multi City Challenge model in Latin America, US and Europe, provides an opportunity for African city leaders to work with their counterparts through sharing experiences from communities via robust public engagement efforts across cities.
The prestigious international cities challenge was initiated by Singapore based Governance Lab in 2016 and after being pioneered in South America.
