2022: Mash West’s year of renaissance, growth

THE year 2022 will go down memory lane in the history of Mashonaland West province for the recognition of a once forgotten hero Cde James Dambaza Chikerema, the resuscitation of mining activities and high performance in the agricultural sector.

Many people, including the late Cde Chikerema’s family, had lost hope that the late national hero, who died on March 22, 2006, would be accorded a national hero status 16 years later.

For close to two decades, the family of the former ZAPU vice president lived in agony, questioning why the late former President Robert Mugabe, who is ironically their relative, would deny Cde Chikerema national hero status.

Cde Chikerema was buried at Kutama cemetery, a few kilometres north of his late father’s Nazareth Farm and close to Cde Mugabe’s homestead.

While officiating at the Heroes Day commemorations at the National Shrine this year, President Mnangagwa announced that Cde Chikerema had been accorded the national hero status he so deserved.

The announcement brought relief and closure to his family and the whole nation after the First Republic did not confer the national hero status on Cde Chikerema. President Mnangagwa also bestowed the national hero status on another liberation war stalwart, the late Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole from Manicaland.

The President put the record straight on how his administration was moving ahead mending all errors created by the First Republic.

“As the Second Republic, we are committed to giving a holistic account of our country’s long war of liberation,” he said, while addressing thousands of people at the national Heroes Acre.

“We are, therefore, rising to the occasion and recognising other heroes and heroines such as the late Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole and the late James Chikerema for their historical contributions, despite their areas of weaknesses, with regards to the observance of the correct line of the revolution.

“For that reason, we now honour the list of our national heroes and heroines. We forever remain indebted to all the heroes and heroines of our great country for the freedom, democracy and independence we enjoy to this day. Their sacrifices will never die.”

The year 2022 also saw the revival of several mining projects in Mashonaland West that had been abandoned. The resuscitated projects are expected to contribute significantly towards attainment of the country’s US$12 billion mining industry .

The resuscitation of Alaska Copper Smelting Plant by a Chinese investor and Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) is a dream come true for thousands of families staying in the mining settlement of Alaska, some 15 kilometres west of Chinhoyi.

The resuscitation of the plant Grand Sanyuan Copper Resources has pumped life into the area with the creation of employment for the community.

Alaska Mine closed over two decades ago and its revival, which started last year with much commendable progress being noticed this year, speaks to Vision 2030 of transforming Zimbabwe into an upper-middle-income economy.

The processing plant saw an injection of US$6 million capital by Chinese investors.

Upon completion, the plant will have four furnaces that will cater for raw materials taken from Mhangura Copper Mine, Shamrock Mine near Karoi, Angwa Mine and Shackelton Mine.

Copper is strategic for electric vehicles, wind and solar power, while infrastructure that transports and stores renewable energy also requires copper.

The revival of the Alaska Smelting Plant has also given hope for the resuscitation of the country’s biggest-ever copper mine, Mhangura, which was closed in 2000.

A new life beckoned for the town and its residents late last year following efforts from the Second Republic to revive the key economic activity in the area after agriculture.

A new deal penned by the Government and a Chinese investor, Zhi Jui Mining Resource (Pvt) Ltd, to treat millions of tonnes of copper dumps from former mining giant Mhangura Copper Mines was certainly, a game changer.

Commissioning of the project was scheduled for the next six months and once running, the project is expected to create direct employment for 300 people from the mining settlement, while contributing US$34 million towards the $12 billion mining industry economy.

A new mining technique to address Zvimba-based Muriel Mine’s receding gold levels through extracting the metal from slime dumps was introduced this year by the century-old mine to potentially boost the company revenue and contribute towards the attainment of a US$12 billion mining economy by 2023.

The mine is expected to boost its monthly production quadruple-fold to 75 kilogrammes for four-and-a-half years by extracting gold from slime dumps accumulated from close to a century of mining.

The Muriel Dump Retreatment Project, sitting on a 50-hectare area, is expected to pump life into one of the country’s oldest mines, thereby increasing employment pros

pects for hundreds of youths from the area in line with the country’s Vision 2030.

Industry revival

The year 2022 also saw the awakening of a sleeping giant, David Whitehead in Chegutu.

The plant was revived by Agro Value Chain Zimbabwe (AVCZ) through the Second Republic’s favourable and conducive environment for business.

AVCZ is a subsidiary of the Indian-owned ETG Parrogate Group, which has investments in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa.

The company has four cotton ginneries in Checheche, Rushinga, Chegutu and Glendale, which have a daily combined ginning capacity of 1 200 tonnes.

The new investment will promote an integrated cotton value chain corporate in line with the Government’s value addition and job creation drive.

Commercial production under the new owners is expected to commence in April next year, with state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment presently en route to Zimbabwe.

Agriculture

The province’s vast agricultural expertise also saw Mashonaland West rising Zimbabwe’s flag high in production.

Mashonaland West’s Namibian sister province, Kavango East Region, requested agriculture experts to help boost the area’s agricultural activities.

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Mary Mliswa-Chikoka led a delegation to the neighbouring nation in November.

Mashonaland West this year saw the province recording the highest winter wheat hectarage in decades.

The province had at least 27 000 hectares with notable gradual progress noticed in the Mhondoro-Ngezi district where over 3 000 of vlei wheat was done.

The farmers realised an average of three tonnes per hectare from the non-irrigated crop.

In October, the Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT)’s Agro-Industrial Park where cattle breeding, manufacturing of stock feed, milking and value-adding of milk to various products is done, was commissioned by President Mnangagwa

Devolution

There were tremendous developments brought by the Central Government’s financial assistance given to local authorities under devolution funds.

The funds are earmarked to decentralise power and improve the lives of communities across the country.

Zvimba Rural District Council (ZRDC) completed 11 projects that have since improved education, health and water and sewer reticulation.

In Hurungwe district, the local authority, Hurungwe Rural District Council, scored big this year from their lion’s share of the funds, purchasing road maintenance and construction machinery, off-road vehicles and building schools and clinics.

Sanyati Rural District Council used part of its allocation to construct two state-of-theart clinics with male, female and maternity wards, among other things. The construction of Marimari and Masasa clinics was done by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, with villagers providing the required labour.

Notable developments were also recorded in Makonde, Chegutu and Mhondoro-Ngezi districts, with Chinhoyi and Chegutu municipalities, Kadoma City, Karoi and Norton town councils and Banket Town Board dedicating funds towards the health and education sector.

The Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP-2) introduced by Government last year to help address roads damaged by incessant rains also brought cheers to residents from across the seven districts in the province.

Notably, the resumption of the upgrading of Alaska-Copper Queen Road this year also impressed the community.

The strategic road shortens the distance travelled from the province to the neighbouring Midlands’ Gokwe North.

A private contractor was given the contract to upgrade the 65-kilometre stretch.

Already, 40 kilometres have been completed, including the construction of reverts while plans are afoot to tar the road in line with Second Republic’s agenda of National Devolution Strategy 1 (NDS-1).

High Court Services

A new permanent High Court was established in Chinhoyi in line with Government’s efforts to decentralise the justice delivery system.

Government has prioritised decentralisation of the courts to ensure ease of access to justice for citizens.

The introduction of the High Court sitting at Chinhoyi Provincial Court dovetailed with the Second Republic’s drive of decentralising judicial service to all parts of the country.