The tale of two cities: Durban and Port Louis
When slavery was abolished on February 1, 1835, an attempt was made to secure a cheap source of adaptable labour for sugar plantations in Mauritius.
Although the initial indentured labour to the island originated from China, Malaysia and Madagascar, it was Indian indentured labour that turned the fortunes of the small island around. And as such, the island also became a centre for the trade in indentured labour under its British rule.
Today Mauritius rates first in Africa in many rankings. Among them are the Global Financial Centres Index, Economic Freedom Index, Ease of Doing Business Index, Human Development Index, Global Competitiveness Report and the Global Innovation Index.
Durban has many accolades in its own right. It was reported that Durban has the highest number of dollar millionaires added per year of any South African city, with the number rising 200% between 2000 and 2014.
In May 2015, Durban was officially recognised as one of the New 7 Wonders Cities together with Vigan, Doha, La Paz, Havana, Beirut and Kuala Lumpur.
With credentials like these it can only benefit both cities to be twinned.
The intention of the Sister City agreement is to provide a common platform for constructive engagement on various issues affecting the parties. Specifically, it aims to identify and disclose planning initiatives and development projects of mutual interest between the parties; to collectively develop projects and identify sources of funding for projects and initiatives and to promote strong economic relationships between and across industries, among others the maritime, chemical engineering, and environmental industries, while tourism and ICT will get particular attention, given the long tradition and importance of these sectors in both cities.
Given the recent local government elections in South Africa, the signing of the agreement was delayed and now that a new council and city leadership in Durban has been installed, the city has tasked its head of Nepad Relations, Bongiwe Mkhize, to travel to the island to finalise the agreement and flesh out its terms of reference.
Watch this space for Durban’s newest Sister City…