Zimpapers Logo

Thupeyo Muleya, [email protected]

Forty-five years after independence, Zimbabwe has undergone profound transformation with a group of what were rural growth points morphing into huge urban centres.

Some 600 kilometres south of the capital city Harare and 327 km east of the second largest city Bulawayo, lies Beitbridge District which was once a rural backwater but has now emerged as a thriving urban hub, teeming with plenty of investment opportunities and high-impact infrastructure development opportunities.

Tucked away in the farthest reaches of the country, the rural district once tortured by underdevelopment and neglect has undergone a stunning rebirth.
Beitbridge is fast transforming as a beacon of hope and progress.

As the country celebrates 45 years of freedom, there is plenty to celebrate and reflect on for Zimbabweans and the Beitbridge community in particular.
From the dusty, unpaved roads to the bustling markets and thriving businesses, this rural district has been transformed.

New schools, clinics, business centres, residential areas, a transformed border post and several infrastructure projects have sprouted, providing opportunities and services that had seemed elusive prior to the attainment of independence.

Through the redevelopment programme, the growth point was upgraded to a town in 2006 and later a municipality in 2019.
The programme came with major civil works including the construction of 16 blocks of flats to house 64 families mainly middle-class civil servants, 250 core houses for home ownership, 52 F14 houses for civil servants, road dualisation, upgrading water supply and sewer infrastructure in the town.

At the moment, the council has set a target to modernise the town into a medium city in line with Vision 2030.
The local authority has also availed 248 hectares of land to accommodate Special Economic Zone projects to include heavy and light industries – this is gradually taking shape.

Rural and urban planning expert, Dr Nicholas Muleya said things have turned around in Beitbridge from a rural centre to a rural district council and a municipality compared to what it looked like a few years after independence.

“Like humans, settlements are expected to grow but unlike humans, settlements must not be allowed to age or die. They must be enlivened and regenerated,” he said.
“In Zimbabwe, settlements go through a hierarchy with the smallest centre of development being a business in rural areas up to a city.

“The hierarchy is as follows: business centre, rural service centre or district service centre, growth point, town board status, town council, municipality and city.
“At independence in 1980 the whole of Beitbridge was rural with the centre under Beitbridge Rural District Council growing to become a growth point, town and now a municipality.

“In rural areas, there has been significant progress in terms of industrial development with the recent setting up of the US$3,6 billion Palm River Special Economic Zone and Industrial Park and the Beitbridge Juice Plant. Beitbridge municipality which is already on a road to serious transformation is expected to grow to city status after satisfying matters provided for by the First Schedule of the Urban Councils Act.”

Former Beitbridge district development co-ordinator Mrs Kilibone Ndou said the area had recorded many positive changes which were implemented by the Government in different sectors of the economy after independence.

New Dumba Clinic

She noted an increase in the number of schools, both secondary and primary schools, which has reduced the distance walked by children to school.
This has resulted in improved pass rates in the rural areas.

“The introduction of inclusive education in some schools in Beitbridge for example, Beitbridge Mission, where children living with disabilities are accommodated is a notable development in our area,” said Mrs Ndou.

“The increase in such services among them the waiting mothers’ shelter at rural clinics where pregnant mothers stay awaiting delivery is contributing to reduced infant mortality.
“We have also seen the Government and its partners rolling out effective projects to develop small to medium enterprises. The grants which were given to the youth took them off the streets and empowered rural women.

“You will realise that cattle ranching or livestock production is one of the major economic anchors here so it is worth noting that the rehabilitation of dip tanks and increasing them in number also assisted in animal disease prevention and control,” she said.

Beitbridge RDC acting chief executive officer Mr Peter Ncube said the district has gone through an infrastructure development revolution, with more schools and clinics being built.

The district now has over 80 primary schools and at least 21 secondary schools from just a handful soon after independence.

“We now have a good governance system that is becoming inclusive of the citizenry to deliberate on issues affecting them through the development structures from the villages, ward to district level. This is pushing the growth of communal areas to service centres, growth points and towns,” said Mr Ncube.

New Beitbridge passport processing office built post-Independence

“The district has also undergone rural industrialisation transition cutting on the dominant rural-to-urban migration challenges.

“We expect to see more investors taking up opportunities as we push for rural transformation through industrialisation.
“It is pleasing to note the empowerment of women to own properties in their names and to own land to carry out various economic development projects.”

Mr Ncube said the rural Beitbridge now had improved water and sanitation facilities through the adoption of solar-powered boreholes, construction of pit latrines and flush toilets, a better set up from bush toilets.

New Fire Station in Beitbridge town

He said piped water schemes were reducing the dangers related to the use of open river sources or uncovered wells.
Mr Ncube said there are a lot of changes relating to local governance systems affecting the communities.

“We are happy with the uptake of education in our rural community and you will recall that we had challenges with the issue of qualified teachers at independence,” he said.
“The uptake of education has led to us having a huge pool of professionals, in medicine, law, security and media among others. The population has been growing with better infrastructure coming up in our rural communities. There are new integrated businesses owned by indigenous people,” he said.

Zimborders Consortium general manager Mr Nqobile Ncube said recently that the US$300 million Beitbridge Border Post project had been implemented in three phases through a public private partnership with the Government.

Chief Tshitaudze

The three phases include the construction of the freight, roads, ICT (Phase 1), bus terminal (Phase 2), and the light vehicles and out-of-port works under Phase 3.
At least 1 600 Zimbabweans have been hired during the course of the project.

Some of the project’s spill-over civil works within Beitbridge town are the construction of a new fire station, an animal quarantine, sewer oxidation dam, a landfill, Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (road upgrading), and construction of 220 staff houses.

Chief Tshitaudze said: “As traditional leaders, we are excited with the transformation of our area with more high impact projects in the citrus production, mining, health, education and security sectors. We also have improved communication facilities and a community radio station, Lotsha FM which broadcasts mainly in all Beitbridge local languages including TshiVenda, Tshi Sotho and Tshi Pfumbi.”

He commended the Government for the US$300 million border project, the US$3,6 billion Palm River Mining Project, dam construction, irrigation development and upgrading the area from a mere rural settlement to a municipality.

Chief Tshitaudze said the opening of a new animal plant and quarantine centre in Beitbridge was a major development for the community, especially farmers.

The facility is very critical for disease control and the rating structure and puts livestock and crop farming in a good standing in terms of products supplied from the area.
Beitbridge’s transformation is more than just a story of economic growth and development, it is a testament to the resilience and determination of its people and the Government.