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Mutare City Link Coordinator Cees Meijer’s (January 1994 to October 2009) Background and motivations to live and work so far from home. I was born in 1953 in Groningen, the most Northern Province of the Netherlands. My teenage years were in a time that many young people became active on social and political issues. Numerous pressure groups for peace, anti apartheid, fair trade and environment conservation have their origin in that period. This spirit of time and the social upbringing by my parents will have had a significant effect on my future choices and actions. I enjoy travelling and have an interest in different countries, the people, their cultures and their environments. I studied at the International Agricultural College, Tropical Division, in Deventer. Following I did a Diploma Course for Agriculture Engineering at Silsoe in England. Most of my working life I have been outside the Netherlands. From 1981 to 1984 I worked for the Ministry of Agriculture in Suriname, South America. I was a member of a team coordinating 3 development projects targeting small scale farmers. In 1986 I was assigned by the Lutheran World Federation to work for a 3 year contract as a project manager on a 712 ha farm for Namibian exiles in Zambia. In between I had various jobs in the Netherlands as well worked as volunteer for the Nicaragua Committee and the Anti Apartheid Committee for Southern Africa. In 1993 I settled with my family in Mutare. I met Wilma Moen (regretfully passed away in 2003), who was then working as a volunteer for the City Link Haarlem Mutare Foundation from May until October. The Haarlem partners would like to have a similar organization setup in Mutare and I applied for the post of Mutare City Link Coordinator. In agreement with the Mutare partners I was appointed and the job started in January 1994. Key characteristics and goals of the City Link relationship. A City Link relationship is for the most part about cooperation between people on the same level, who have similar work, comparable goals and mutual interests. It is about getting to know each other, making personal contacts, learning from each other, understanding each other’s values and working together to attain shared goals. The direct linking appeals to me as it is based on personal relationships, people on both sides cooperating in equity for the betterment of our communities. The shared goals of the Haarlem Mutare City Link are to:
The main tasks of the Mutare City Link Coordinator. In brief it has been to assist in: matching City link partners and stakeholders; the identification of activities and projects; facilitating capacity building; planning and implementation activities; networking, communication and reporting. I contributed to the development of the Mutare Local Action 21 platform (= Local Action for sustainable development in the 21rst century). I represented the City Link in most of the board meetings and a range of project/activity meetings of the 5 City Link / Mutare LA21 Sectors. A regular task was to inform the Mutare people about the City Link organization on both sides, its people, goals, plans activities and projects. It is clear that we have to know from each other where and how we live, looking at: geography, the political system, economics, climate, water, culture, education, transport, food, architecture, and other. At City Link events presentations would be given about the City of Haarlem and the Netherlands, usually with equivalent facts of Mutare, Zimbabwe. The Contribution of a City Link relationship to the problems of our time. This needs to be put in its local and global contexts. We are on a daily bases confronted with the outside world by the media. The news we get from them is commonly not so positive. From Africa we hear about droughts, starvation and wars. Such tragedies have for a large part to do with the history of colonization. Colonial economics were based on exploiting and exporting local resources at the least possible costs and this created a vast regional inequity between North and South. Unfortunately not much has improved for the African people after independence. The Northern countries require much more land and resources to satisfy the consumption needs of its population. They therefore depend on a considerable amount of land, labor and resources from countries in the South (‘Global footprint’ human dependence indicator on nature and of one country‘s dependence on another). Africa can still be exploited because of unfair trade flows and corrupted leadership in quite a number of countries. Western Europe experiences a large influx of the desperate poor and political refugees from these countries. Most of them settle in the cheaper already marginalized parts of the Cities. The native people feel threatened as they become a minority in their own neighborhoods. Local neighborhood residents and immigrants have often very little in common. Differences in language, cultural customs, and religion appear to be insurmountable barriers, which can easy lead to conflicts. Such neighborhoods have generally higher unemployment, more vandalism and crime. Mavericks from the extreme side of the political spectrum often use the deteriorating relationship between native locals and immigrants to flare ethnic prejudice. They gain votes and grow wherever the mainstream political parties fail to deal with the problems. In disturbed settings extremism can more easily pop up and history has shown that any people in the world can be perpetrator or victims of horrendous deeds. In general it is not just gloom and doom in our world. There is a much more positive side about people which we like to highlight and develop in the City Link/Mutare LA21 relationship. We stimulate communication and cooperation between the people of two different worlds in a sensible constructive manner. Through the City Link/Mutare LA21 activities people at community level are being made aware and empowered to deal with issues such as poverty alleviation, healthcare, and environmental conservation in their own setting. Their empowerment can through positive action have an immediate and local effect. Organized, informed and active people are more forceful when it comes to the desired political leadership. Mavericks with extreme views do not make as much chance and corrupt leaders will be more strongly opposed. Sustainability cannot be achieved by local communities alone. In an open political system people can hold their leaders responsible for tackling, on national and international level, sustainable development in equity. How the City Link/Mutare LA21 deals with politics. We condemn political oppression and corruption. The City Link/Mutare LA21 partnership recognizes that a safe and civilized society can only be attained when the social, economic, health and environmental problems are tackled with the people and for the people. The work of the City Link/Mutare LA21 is not linked to any political party, as our activities and projects are based on people’s needs and not on party affiliation. We support the choices of the people and we expect the politicians to listen. Society needs different ideas, different points of view, different ways of expression and that is best to be appreciated. In free societies development is not stagnant but dynamic and full of creative opportunities. In our City Link/Mutare LA21 partnership we want to work together for a better society and support self-reliance of all people in good as well as in bad times. People can only be a force when they are empowered. The City Link/Mutare Local Action 21 organization in Mutare and how it functions. The City Link relationship between the city of Mutare in Zimbabwe and The City of Haarlem in the Netherlands was established in 1992. The Mutare Haarlem City Link Local Action 21 Charter for sustainable development was agreed and signed in 2001. The Charter testifies that the two communities will work together on the theme of sustainable development, dealing with the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. The Mutare LA21 program is aiming to pay attention to the whole fabric of society with emphasis on self reliance, equity, poverty elimination, education, shelter, healthcare, sport, cultural exchange, and last but not least economic growth in balance with environmental conservation. Areas of concern are dealt with through joint action promoting equitable partnership between the Local Authorities, stakeholder institutions, non government organizations, the private sector and foremost with and for the people in the community based. At the Mutare 2002 Charter Conference 5 focal sector areas were selected and these provide the organizational and practical framework for the future cooperation:
Some specific City Link/Mutare LA21 achievements. The City Link partnership between Haarlem and Mutare is in its 17th year and for each Sector a sizeable range of achievements could be given. I will list a number of activities, which do not yet present the complete picture but will show the variety of our community activities over the years. For detailed up to date information I like to refer to the City Link/Stedenband Haarlem Mutare Website (website: www.haarlem-mutare.nl) Environment Africa and Africa University conducted for City Link/Mutare LA21 two baseline surveys, with as specific objective to assess the current situation in Township neighborhood communities This would then help achieve the overall objective, which is to assist the neighborhood communities in identifying problems and opportunities for improving their livelihoods and local environment.
The reason to stop with my work as the Mutare City Link Coordinator. I enjoyed a function which is immensely diverse, rewarding and without any doubt the finest as well longest job of my working life. However at this moment in time I have to consider other opportunities for my future. The Mutare LA21/City Link Mutare organization, with support from the Haarlem partners, has employed local Sector Coordinators who in their discipline can accomplish much more than I can do. It is not easy to decide on leaving a wonderful job but time has come to handover my duties. I experienced that the majority of the people here are hardworking, knowledgeable and very sociable. Thus it has been wonderful to live and work in Mutare, which also happens to be the most scenic City in Zimbabwe. Thank You all. As I am saying farewell it is for my part essential to thank you all: the Mayors of Mutare and Haarlem, the City Councils and officials who in so many ways give support to the Haarlem Mutare City Link/Mutare LA21 cooperation. Thank you very much City Link/Mutare LA21 chairpersons, Sector Committees, Coordinators, Sector stakeholders, volunteers, and all from the community involved for your outstanding work and enthusiasm. I am as much grateful to the City Link Foundation, working committees, volunteers and partners in Haarlem who in good and bad times are unwavering in their tremendous support. There are so many people on both sides who have given significant and long lasting contributions that I have difficulty to list names. I am enormous grateful to have worked together with so many fine people in Mutare for the betterment of our communities. All of you are in my heart. Through partnership cooperation between Communities in North and South
and share the responsibility in striving for equitable and sustainable development
Cees Meijer Mutare September 18, 2009
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