Winneba signs sister city MoU with Charlottesville, USA

Accra, Aug. 11, GNA - The Cities of Charlottesville in Virginia, USA and Winneba in the Central Region of Ghana, have signed Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of a sister-city relationship aimed at a long standing, comprehensive and mutually beneficial relationship.

The Sister-Cities agreement, signed under the auspices of the Africa Global Cities Foundation and facilitated by the Charlottesville Quality Community Council, shall promote educational, economic, cultural and sporting corporation to enhance the lives of the citizens and people living in the two cities.

It will also facilitate trade and investment in fishing, cold storage, transportation and the empowerment of women, children and the vulnerable through the provision of entrepreneurial skills for women as well as infrastructural development in the hospitality industry for Winneba.

Charlottesville will also benefit from music, cultural and sporting activities including the exchange of the services of football coaches from Winneba to Charlottesville.

This was contained in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency and signed by Mr Mike Hammah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Effutu. Mr Hammah led a delegation to Charlotteville for the historic signing of the MOU.

Other members were, Joseph Baiden-Ammissah, Chairman of the Winneba Sister Cities Commission (WSCC), Mrs Ernestina Nabari Yawson, Administrative Secretary, WSCC, Nana Kojo Beedu V, traditional ruler, Mr Robert Kwesi Armah-Sekum, Asafo No.1 Company, Mr Joseph Baiden, Asafo No. 2 Company, Prof. Francis Anani Jopp, International Relations Director, University of Education, Winneba and Mr Godfrey Kwame Nkrumah, Opinion Leader.

In an address at the signing ceremony, Mr Hammah said the twining of the cities of Winneba and Charlottesville was most significant as the two cities both depended on an effective workforce, which leveraged the resources of universities, in apparent reference to the University College of Education in Winneba and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

He said the coming together of the identical cities would ensure more jobs for the youth and the people of Winneba to improve the quality of life and generally transform the economy of the city as the MOU touched on the provision of health facilities and the construction of a library complex for Winneba.

In his address, the Mayor of Charlottesville, Mr David Norris said the signing of the MOU cemented the already cordial relations between Winneba and Charlottesville and looked forward to the promotion of local Government priorities relevant to both cities including the transfer of technologies related to renewable energy sources, recycling, manufacturing, reforestation and environmental education.

He was full of praise for Nana Akyempong-Ghartey, a Winneba citizen living in the US, who initiated and worked tirelessly for the Sister-Cities Relationship, between the two cities.