Francistown-Genk 'Love Affair' Blossoms

By Gale Ngakane
Correspondent | Monday February 8, 2010 00:00

 The ceremony was held in Francistown for the visiting Genk delegation. At the event, the delegation donated 25 computers from the Genk City Council to the Francistown youth centre. With flickering flames on waist-length tables covered in flowing white cloth, each with a stool and a red cosy carpet for good measure, it looked like Valentine had come too early for officials of the two cities.

That could have explained the actions of the master of ceremony who really tried to make the guests to loosen up. 'This is not a serious affair. There is no need to be rooted to your chairs. You can stand up and shake shake your bodies,' said the MC, who however spotted a tie knotted tightly around his neck.

The Belgian delegation was led by deputy Genk mayor, Jeannine Steyvers. It was expected to leave Botswana yesterday after a whirlwind tour of places of interest in Francistown. Genk and Francistown have a twinning relationship.

Besides the deputy mayor, other officials from the Belgian city with a medieval history included councillor Angelo Bruno, chief of education Johan Bovcaneau and liaison officer, Wim Govaerts.

And their counterparts from Francistown, with its dark colonial past of racial segregation WAS Mayor, Shadreck Nyeku, acting City Clerk, Godimo Gare and a gargle of officials and staff members of the youth centre.

In his speech to welcome the Belgians, Nyeku observed that the friendship between Francistown and 'De Groene Stad' (The Green City) as Genk is fondly known back home because of its ecological reputation, has proven to be a success. He said the two cities have been collaborating in the exchange of technical expertise, social issues, youth development and health since 2004. One such effort has been a competition to select the best ward in Francistown. Area S scooped the prize of P25,000, the donation of 25 computers and THE setting up of a youth centre.

In his speech, Nyeku seemed to believe in the adage half a loaf is better than nothing.

'Francistown had developed from strength to strength as a result of the twinning agreement. Through the agreement, the council had been a point of reference for other councils in the country that wanted to engage in twinning agreements,' he said at the candlelit dinner.

Genk is taking the relationship with Francistown very seriously as attested by the presence of deputy mayor Steyvers who said her council is giving the twinning agreement maximum attention.

She said as a way of expressing her council's ambition for the twinning to be more than just an exclusive club, she brought with her the leader of the biggest opposition party in her council, Bruno.

Steyvers said the twinning must be a mission in which the two councils were dedicated to in order to allow the two cities to develop for the benefit of all the people living in them.

She called for an effective and efficient coordination from all the partners, saying solid collaboration between policy makers and administration could be one of the factors that would make the two cities and countries exemplary models of good governance.

Steyvers called on the two cities to learn from each other and ensure that in 2014 when the twinning agreement expires, they would have achieved sustainable results. The Genk delegation was taken on a walkabout of Francistown, visiting schools and other centres. Members of the delegation were expected to address Kgotla meetings with council officials.

Besides Francistown, Genk twins with the Polish city of Cieszyn and Isparta in Turkey. Genk started as Celtic village. Its residents embraced Christianity in the 10th Century.

The first mention of Genk as Geneche can be found in a document dating from 1108, ceding the territory to the Abbey of Rolduc. Politically, Genk belonged to the County of Loon until it was annexed by the Prince Bishopric of Liege in 1365.

A truly multicultural society it has a mix of Belgian, Mediterranean-Italian, Turkish and Greek populations. The biggest tourist attraction of Genk is Bokrijk an open-air museum consisting of authentic relocated buildings (mainly dating fromthe  17th to 19th Century) from all over Flanders.