Secretariat, Taipei City Government

Mayor Solly Msimanga of the City of Tshwane, South Africa, makes an official visit to learn from Taipei City

Mayor Tshepiso Solly Msimanga of the City of Tshwane (previously Pretoria), South Africa, came to Taiwan on 27 December and paid a visit to Mayor Ko Wen-Je on the 29 in order to strengthen inter-city relations.
The youngest mayor ever to be elected in a major South African city, Mayor Msimanga was inaugurated in September 2016. During his discussion with Mayor Ko, Mayor Msimanga said that his city is mired in high unemployment and high demand for housing, social welfare and medical resources. The purpose of this trip was to seek advice. Mayor Ko suggested that Taiwan’s National Health Insurance system is a great point of reference for healthcare issues and suggested that “innovation is the best solution for unemployment”, recommending that Mayor Msimanga pay a visit to the Center for Innovation Taipei.
Mayor Msimanga stressed that his sole goal is to improve the lives of his citizens and said that this visit had also served as an opportunity to seek investment and learn from an international city. Mayor Ko expressed his strong support for this undertaking. Lastly, Mayor Msimanga presented Mayor Ko with an official letter of invitation to visit the City of Tshwane in the future.
During their stay in Taiwan, Mayor Msimanga and his delegates also visited Xinglong Public Housing, Beitou Incineration Plant and the recently opened Center for Innovation Taipei to learn more about their operations, as Mayor Ko suggested.