Why Zimbabwe's third city needs strategic investment, not just survival management
Living in Gweru means accepting a particular status within Zimbabwe's urban hierarchy—not quite the cosmopolitan capital, not the industrial powerhouse, but something less defined: the administrative center, the university town, the place you pass through between "real" destinations. This positioning, seemingly benign, actively damages the city's development prospects and the life chances of its 150,000 residents. As someone who has called Gweru home for two decades, I argue that national development strategy must recognize and rectify this systematic neglect.
Gweru's designation as Midlands Provincial capital created expectations of administrative investment that never materialized. Government offices occupy dilapidated buildings; civil servants commute from inadequate housing stock; provincial decision-making remains concentrated in Harare regardless of formal structures. The city hosts the machinery of state without receiving the resources or autonomy to function effectively.
Midlands State University's presence similarly generates unrealized potential. While 20,000 students animate the local economy temporarily, institutional relationships with the city remain transactional rather than transformative. Graduate retention rates are abysmal—trained professionals depart for Harare, South Africa, or diaspora destinations, taking human capital investment with them. The university functions as an export industry, importing rural students and exporting qualified workers, with minimal local value addition.
Economic policy compounds these challenges. Gweru's manufacturing base, never substantial, received no protection or support during structural adjustment and subsequent crises. The city's location between Harare and Bulawayo positioned it perfectly for logistics and distribution industries, yet transport infrastructure investment favored the terminal cities rather than intermediate hubs. Agricultural processing potential, given surrounding commercial farming, remains largely unrealized due to erratic power supply and policy uncertainty.
The psychological impact of this neglect manifests in civic culture. Gweru residents display less urban pride than counterparts in larger cities—fewer local festivals, weaker sports team support, reduced entrepreneurial risk-taking. The "small town" mentality becomes self-fulfilling, as those with ambition and resources depart for environments offering greater opportunity. This cultural dimension of underdevelopment receives insufficient attention in policy discussions focused on physical infrastructure.
What would strategic investment in Gweru look like? Rather than competing with Harare's financial sector or Bulawayo's manufacturing, Gweru should leverage distinct advantages. The city's relatively stable electricity supply (compared to Harare), central location, and lower costs suit data center and business process outsourcing industries. Its agricultural hinterland and research institutions position it for agribusiness innovation. Its natural surroundings—Antelope Park, Matobo Hills proximity, pleasant climate—offer tourism potential unrealized through marketing and access investment.
Most critically, Gweru needs governance reform granting genuine autonomy over local development. Current structures concentrate decision-making in Harare ministries disconnected from local realities. Devolution, constitutionally mandated but practically limited, should empower Gweru to set priorities, retain revenue, and attract investment suited to local conditions rather than national political calculations.
The alternative—continued managed decline—condemns another generation to departure or diminished expectations. Gweru deserves recognition as more than a waystation between destinations worth visiting. Its residents deserve the dignity of opportunity in their chosen home.
Comments
Post a Comment