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Sydney Kawadza Mash West Bureau Chief

President Mnangagwa’s engagement and re-engagement policies have started bearing fruit, benefiting grassroots levels from the signing of a twinning arrangement between the Municipality of Chinhoyi and Dongyang City of Zhezhiang Province in China.

The programme is part of a twinning arrangement between Zhezhiang Province and the provinces of Mashonaland West and Matabeleland North, with Chinese investors expected to take advantage of available opportunities in various economic sectors.

The agreements signed during a business forum held in Harare on Tuesday evening would also see Victoria Falls twinning with Jinhua City in the same Chinese province.

The Chinese business delegation led by Ms Ge Huin, chair of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a political legislative advisory body, yesterday visited Chinhoyi, where they met with Chinhoyi Mayor Dyke Makumbi and councillors from the municipality and Makonde Rural District Council.

The visiting delegation also visited the Korekore Cultural Village and the Chinhoyi Caves and Lions Enclosure.

Speaking after the tour, Ms Ge called for strengthening of communication and cooperation between the two provinces, while enhancing economic development between Zimbabwe and China.

“Visiting the cultural village gave us a deep impression of the traditional culture and the warm heartedness of the local people in Chinhoyi. The Chinhoyi Caves are very natural, although I have seen many such areas across the world, but these caves are very impressive as they are not only natural, but very big and you cannot see the depth. We don’t even know where the water comes from,” she said.

“We have met a lot of people in Chinhoyi and the cultural village and we hope the twinning arrangement with the municipality would lead to more communication and cooperation in different fields to strengthen our friendship.”

In her address to councillors, management and other delegates at the Chinhoyi Municipality council chambers, Ms Ge said there were various opportunities that could be derived from the twinning arrangements between the cities.

“We should take this twinning arrangement to open more business opportunities between our countries in areas such as the economy, education, agriculture and culture,” she said.

Mayor Makumbi paid tribute to President Mnangagwa for allowing the twinning arrangement between his town and the City of Dongyang.

“The twinning arrangement is a wonderful relationship between our two cities and we are also hopeful that both cities would benefit from this development, while we hope that this is the beginning of more to come,” he said.