History of Sister City Relationship
Between Saanich and Zomba

In June 1988 the Federal government launched the Africa 2000 project. Under the auspices of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, municipalities were invited to form partnerships with comparably sized African municipalities. Saanich was among the first seven Canadian municipalities to join the program in September 1988 and was partnered with the City of Zomba in Malawi.

Zomba Pages Home About Malawi About our Project Contact us How to Donate Media Releases Sister City Relationship The Partnership Update in Zomba

The FCM Partnership Program
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)  International Partnership Program provides funding to permit Canadian municipalities to share their expertise with a partner municipality in a developing country .The current focus of the program is on staff exchanges and training. Canadian municipal staff with a particular expertise visit the partner municipality for two or three weeks to carry out training and on other occasions staff from the international partner will visit Canada for training and orientation.

A large part of the funding for the program is provided by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).  The core values of the program are: "Our priority is the empowerment of municipal government as the preferred means to achieve effective governance and sustainable development. Our actions are based on the sharing of skills, technologies and knowledge in a cooperative manner. We recognize and respect racial and cultural differences, and we value the learning opportunities offered by the experiences of municipal governments within various historical, political and cultural context. We believe in the participation in Canadian municipal governments in international activities. We value and promote mutual economic development opportunities. Ultimately, we believe in the need to build bridges between municipal governments around the world as a means to improve living conditions."

Saanich Projects
November 1988 Mayor Sturrock, Saanich Engineer Cliff Warren and Saanich resident Michael Lewis make first visit to Zomba to assess needs.

September 1989 Using $20,000 raised from the Saanich community, Saanich Public Works1‑‑ Superintendent, Pat Kennedy and his wife Thelma, initiated:

1. construction of a covered vendor and storage shed in the Zomba central market (PDF 116KB)
2. arranged for the installation of 15 shallow wells, and
3. arranged for seal coating of municipal roads

October 1989 SaanichTreasurer, Ron Porter and Mr. Norgaard, a private sector accountant, visited Zomba to assist in upgrading accounting and tax collection systems.

October 1989 Zomba Senior Health Inspector and Roads Superintendent visit Saanich for training and orientation.

1990 Saanich arranged for the Nanaimo Superintendent of Waste Water Treatment, Mr. David Bain, to visit Zomba.

1991 Saanich Mayor Murray Coell, Saanich Engineer Cliff Warren and Saanich Superintendent Pat Kennedy visit Zomba to explore initiatives.

October 1994 Zomba Mayor, J.P. Malunga and Clerk, Fred Baluwa, visit Saanich.

Spring 1995 Two sea containers, one containing $100,000 of medical supplies, the other full of miscellaneous donations and surplus goods such as firefighting equipment, books, bicycles, clothes and toys are sent to Zomba.

Fall 1995  Retired Saanich Superintendent Pat Kennedy visits Zomba to arrange for well installation.

Spring 1996 installation of seven deep borehole wells and delivers training materials for in‑house municipal staff training.

October 1997 Saanich arranged to deliver funds to Zomba to purchase training aids and fund training courses in Malawi for Zomba staff.

Spring 1998 Mike Ippen, Saanich Superintendent of Waterworks, visits Zomba to carry out administrative training sessions and assess the viability of wells installed under earlier exchanges.

Fall 1999 Mike Ippen and Debby Harris, Senior Computer Trainer, visit Zomba to carry out a needs assessment of Zomba's computer operations, arrange to connect Zomba to the Internet and carry out staff training in various computer applications.