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| Kimberly Sithole |
Felix
Matasva
MUTARE- The City of Mutare has been selected to
participate in the initial edition of the Multi-City Challenge Africa competition
which seeks to unveil solutions for urban life problems affecting local
authorities dotted around the African continent.
City of Mutare is the first local authority from Zimbabwe
and Southern Africa to take part in the challenge and will compete for honors
against Kano from Nigeria, Kampala from Uganda, Accra from Ghana and Bahir Dar from
Ethiopia.
The City of Mutare’s Multi-City Challenge coordinating committee
chairperson Kimberley Sithole told TellZim News that the competition was very
significant in showcasing the Zimbabwean brand at an international stage.
“We highly treasure recognition of the local authority
beyond our borders. It has been very hard to sell the brand Zimbabwe on the
international arena and this stand as a chance to reshape people’s perceptions
towards our country.
“We are raising the Zimbabwean flag high since we were
selected among other cities like Johannesburg, Lusaka, Maputo and others,”
said Sithole.
She said the challenge offers a platform for Zimbabwean
residents and citizens to exercise their right to expression by revealing ideas
which will be assessed at an international level.
“We are embarking on an open challenge starting on
November 4 and ending on December 4. It’s a crucial stage in the entire
multi-city challenge whereby residents, stakeholders, academia, researchers,
experts, people in the media and corporate sector to uncover solutions to
problems identified in the initial stage.
“It is an opportunity for young think-tanks to showcase
their brilliant ideas by just a click on the website. We urge all Zimbabweans
and diasporas to validate our country’s intellect,” said Sithole.
The Multi-City Challenge Africa, which is a build up to the fruitful
implementation of the Multi-City Challenge model in Latin America, the US and
Europe, provides an opportunity for African city leaders to work with others by
sharing experiences from communities
through robust public engagement efforts across cities.
The prestigious International Cities Challenge was modeled
by a Singapore-based Governance Lab in 2016 and after being pioneered in South
America it was then transformed into a Multi-city Challenge.
The African version provides a platform for public servants
to establish workable solutions needed to resolve challenges of urban life
through extensive citizen engagement.
City of Mutare spokesperson Spren Mutiwi said the
competition is no longer for Mutare alone as they are carrying the national
flag.
“We are focusing on urban resilience and we urge all
stakeholders including citizens to participate in the open challenge under the
City of Mutare banner. We need to raise the flag of Zimbabwe hence this is no
longer a Mutare issue,” said Mutiwi.
The Multi-City Africa Challenge is being organized by United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Global Centre for Technology, Innovation
and Sustainable Development and the Governance Lab (GovLab) at New York
University Tandon School of Engineering.
