The city of Sunderland, in North East England has recently formed a partnership with the Local Municipality of Mbombela, South Africa.  

Councillor Paul Watson, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Through effective partnership working we will support Mbombela Local Municipality in its aim to develop its economy.

“We will be seeking to develop skills and practices in Mbombela to enable the local authority to create strong working relationships with the business sector and encourage inward investment to the area. 

“We’ll also share our experience of supporting unemployed residents to access employment opportunities, as they are created, through initiatives such as Job Linkage.”

The partnership is being formed as part of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum’s Good Practice Scheme (GPS).  The goal of the GPS is to improve the capability of Mbombela Local Municipality to serve its citizens and to help reduce poverty.  The link is one of 34 local authority partnerships being supported by the GPS across Ghana, India, Jamaica, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and South Africa. 

The Commonwealth Local Government Forum is a core partner of the UK Local Government Alliance for International Development (LG Alliance). The LG Alliance brings together 5 local government bodies to improve understanding of international development issues, how local government contributes and the benefits that are brought to communities both at home and overseas. The work between Sunderland and Mbombela highlights the mutual benefits that can be gained in the UK and in South Africa from such a partnership.

Sunderland City Council will be working with Mbombela Local Municipality in Mpumalanga Province. This newest partnership with Mbombela will provide Sunderland with a first link with the developing world, and both sides are determined to take this opportunity to share experience about business development programmes that will create employment opportunities. 

The Mbombela Local Municipality is excited to learn about the Job Linkage programme in Sunderland.  This programme supports people who are out of work by helping them look at the barriers that are preventing them from working.  The programme also helps people develop the necessary skills that they need for employment opportunities. 

Councillor Watson added: “In Sunderland we are proud of our Fairtrade City status and proud of the support we can give people in the developing world to enable them to support their own communities more effectively.

“Our two areas also share a common bond through the FIFA World Cup and there may be potential for Sunderland to learn from Mbombela’s experience should the city be successful in its bid for 2018.”