Brand Kenya to pair country's cities with global ones

By MACHARIA KAMAU Brand Kenya Board plans to pair up Kenyan cities and major towns with its peers across the world. The city-twinning programme is part of a project that the board is working on to change the image of urban areas.The programme is expected to offer local authorities learning experiences on city management. Mary Kimonye, chief executive Brand Kenya, said cities in developed and newly industrialised countries can offer lessons to Kenyan urban planners, as major Kenyan towns and cities are going through growth phases that the countries went through. Challenges phasing local city and town managers include waste management, traffic hold-ups and delivery of social amenities like water and health.The Board has already initiated discussions with the city of Bedford in the UK. Bedford, renowned for being home to one of the best athletics’ stadiums, is to be paired with Eldoret, popular for the prowess of athletes hailing from the town and its environs.Other than lessons in management of city affairs for the Eldoret country officials, the two cities are expected to form alliances, including joint training programmes in athletics where Kenyans are expected to offer tips.Ms Kimonye said Brand Kenya had initial talks with the local authorities there and officials of the Bedford International Athletic Stadium in October.co-host marathon"We met with the officials last month and agreed to partner in the area of sports. This will involve exchange programmes and joint training among athletes."She added that the discussions included plans to co-host a 10km marathon in Bedford. The pairing up of Eldoret is the second and comes after the twinning of Lamu with Jing’ An in Shanghai, China. In October, officials from Lamu and Jing’ An signed a memorandum of understanding to partner in different areas including in area of culture and economies.The twinning was prompted by trade ties between the Kenyan Coast and China stretching way back to the 15th century and whose impact is evident today in Chinese culture embedded within that of the people of Lamu."There is a long history of trade between China and the Kenyan Coast and that is what we want to exploit," said Kimonye.There is a local community in Lamu with a close resemblance to the people of China believed to be descendents of the Chinese.The board plans to twin up 11 cities and major towns in Kenya with others from different parts of the world, a process Kimonye said would be undertaken over the long term."We shall have all the basics in place by 2012, but the twinning between our cities and other cities, including turning around the image of the cities and town is long term," said Kimonye.She said most of Kenyan urban areas have problems in common like waste management, management of social amenities similar to cities in developed and newly industrialised countries.

Brand Kenya to pair country's cities with global ones

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Related Topics

Similar Articles

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

Similar Articles

AI boom raises pressure for clean energy transition

How to pick the right insurance cover for your car

Push for cryptocurrency regulation gathers pace

South Sudan justifies Crawford Capital Port collection role

DIGGER JOBS

Digger Motors

Digger Real Estate

Brand Kenya to pair country's cities with global ones

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Related Topics

Similar Articles

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS