JOHANNESBURG. Kronobergs län (county) in Sweden does not seem to have that much in common with South Africa´s North West Province.
But that is before you scratch the surface.
To start with the two share a common history that brought Swedish immigrants from Kronoberg to the Potchefstroom area back in 1863. A history that has been brought back to life by Christer Blomstrand´s exhibition and by a docu-drama made by Marika Griehsel and Simon Stanford.
An academic exchange programme between Potchefstroom University and the university in Växjö, the capital of Kronoberg, is also ongoing.
After a visit to The Northern West Province by a delegation led by Kronobergs län´s deputy governor (landstingsråd) there is more in the pipeline.
“The result was a lot more concrete than I had anticipated. One area that we believe a lot can be done jointly is in tourism. We have a lot of lakes in our area and there is a lot of canoeing taking place. In many cases the tourists cut down trees. North West will find similar problems as they begin to build their tourism industry,” said Claes Sjöblom, deputy Governor of Kronobergs län.
Cultural exchange is another one. The partner counties will invite representatives to cultural events that take place through the year.
There will be more serious matters to collaborate around as well:
“We have worked pretty hard with a democratisation project for elected representatives. That is an area where we can exchange views, though we naturally come from very different backgrounds. The South African´s have very much a legalistic view on these things”, said Claes Sjöblom.
Enterprise development is yet another area that has been discussed. The North West needs all the advice it can get in that area: in many of the townships around in the province unemployment can be as high as 40 percent.
“Again, our circumstances are very different. But nevertheless it is an important area for us to work with”.
Claes Sjöblom say´s he is impressed by the caliber of the officials he and his delegation have met.
“The officials we have met are very, very knowledgeable and have clearly done their homework”.
AfricaScan Comment:
The Kronoberg County was the main emigration area in Sweden during the mid- to late Nineteenth century. Most of the immigrants went to North America, all escaping poverty and hunger in Sweden – one of Europe’s poorest country´s at the time.
Sida finances the co-operation, a Swedish county can not get involved in direct aid projects without authorisation higher up in the hierarchy.
The present drive away from classic aid to “participation” creates more room for provinces that would like to develop friendly links with foreign counterparts.
It does of course open up for potential criticism, not the least from local newspapers that are more than happy to “disclose” when local dignitaries are traveling to sunny locations on taxpayer’s money.
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