‘No investments from China, but many lessons’

THERE was no talk about possible investments in Cebu City during Mayor Michael Rama’s five-day trip to China, but it gave city officials and barangay captains some insights in improving the city, he said.

The mayor said that Xiamen’s progress sets an example for Cebu City, particularly its innovations in solid waste management and landfill operations, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and its sewage treatment facility.

Rama and 14 other city officials and barangay captains were in Xiamen for five days to attend the 16th China International Fair for Investment and Trade, and the 9th China (Xiamen) International Forum for Mayors of Friendship Cities, where he presented the profile of Cebu City and its cultural and creative industries.

The group visited Xiamen’s 70-hectare sanitary landfill and a solid waste management set-up the size of the South Road Properties, among other places.

“The forum was more on the sister cities, and the other was about other countries investing in Xiamen … What we can copy from Xiamen is their aspiration for change and the dream of having a huge, multi-level exhibition building … Their landfill is also huge,” Rama told a news conference yesterday.

On his first day in Cebu after the trip, the mayor hit back at Rep. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, south district), who reportedly said in a press conference over the weekend that businessmen have complained that Rama’s party has been soliciting money from them whenever he goes on foreign trips.

The former mayor also criticized Rama for bringing only the barangays leaders who are allied with him.

“Ayaw siya pataka og sulti. Diretso ra siya dasmag ug storya, pataka lang siyag sulti basin iya nang binuhatan (He should not make up stories, maybe he is the one who is guilty of solicitation),” Rama said.