Municipal management, politics and finances, urban infrastructure, the health system and housing were the topics of good practices visited during the study tour accompanied by comprehensive training covering subject and methodological aspects as well as reflection and action planning sessions.

On Tuesday, the 9th June 2015, just under 40 Zimbabwean civil servants and local government officials from six municipalities embarked on their return journey from Frankfurt to Zimbabwe. Ten of the colleagues, the mayors and town clerks from the respective municipalities, had already departed a week before. All the participants had been in North Rhine-Westphalia for two weeks in all, and they had got to know local practices in the field of local government and politics, municipal finances, urban infrastructure, the health system and housing. The visits were accompanied by comprehensive training covering subject and methodological aspects as well as reflection and action planning sessions, aimed at achieving an optimum benefit for development.

Institutions visited by the health sector civil servants included Aachen Health Authority, a water treatment plant and various model projects in NRW in the fields of preventive healthcare, AIDS patients and multi-resistant pathogens. The delegates responsible for the area of infrastructure in their municipalities looked in e.g. at Iserlohn’s municipal buildings management, a waterworks and various municipal utilities. As was to be expected, the “housing developers” got to know a wide range of innovative and council housing projects as well as the authorities responsible for them, while the Zimbabwean directors of finance became familiar with financing models, treasures and savings potentials. The important role of the private sector in the municipal budget was also focused on, e.g. during a visit to the City of Dormagen. The mayors and clerks who had already come a week earlier visited a wide range of municipalities as well as a committee meeting in Bergheim.

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