Gweru
Gweru (formerly Gwelo) is a city near the centre of Zimbabwe at . It has a population of about 137,000 (2002), making it the fourth largest city in the nation. The city was founded in 1894 by Dr. Leander Starr Jameson.
It is also home to Thornhill Air Base, an army garrison, the Zimbabwe Military Museum and the Antelope Game Park. The Nalatale and Danangombe enclosures lie nearby, the first known for its patterned brickwork, the second for its Portuguese remains.
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Industry
Industries include Zimbabwe Alloys, a chrome smelting plant, and Bata Shoe Company. Both are leading employers in Gweru. Gweru is situated in one of Zimbabwe's finest cattle rearing areas and surrounding agricultural activity revolves around the cattle industry (both beef and dairy). Bata have their own tanning plant for cattle hides and the Cold Storage Commission CSC have an abattoir in Gweru. Flowers are also grown in the area for the export market and Zimbabwe's largest distiller, Afdis, have extensive vineyards in Gweru for the production of wine. Mining is also prevalent, mainly chrome ore from rich deposits along the Great Dyke to the East of Gweru.Top companies
Links with Southern Africa
Railway
The National Railways of Zimbabwe have the country's largest marshalling yard, Dabuka, on the South side of Gweru. Dabuka plays a pivotal role in rail movement in the country as it is the central hub of the rail links to Mozambique in the East, South Africa in the South and Botswana and Namibia in the South West, lying on the Bulawayo - Harare Line.
Road
As a central city of cities, it has direct links all the other cities of Zimbabwe and other towns.
Politics
Like other urban areas of Zimbabwe, the majority supports the MDC.
Population
The population of the urban is thought to be around 300 000 people but could be even more had it not that most of the people in Zimbabwe still maintain their rural background thereby having 2 'homes'. The majority are Shona speakers and some few Ndebele speakers who can make up 10% of the entire population.
Education
Gweru is a home to higher educational institutions such as Gweru Polytechnic College, Midlands State University and Mkoba Teachers College. Gweru's high schools include Thornhill High School, Chaplin High School, Midlands Christian College and others.
Residential Areas
The biggest surburb in Gweru is Mkoba which is divided into sections. Mkoba started as a village so it still maintains village 1, village 2 upto village 26. It is the only surbuban area in Zimbabwe to the village suffix. Mtapa, Senga,Mambo,Ascot and Montrose are some of the surbubs around Gweru where black people used to stay during the colonial period.Mambo is home of underground rapper, music producer Bonnie populary known among the entertainment circle as BeeGee who co-founded BeeGee Records with George a.k.a Uncle Q. Together they have produced mainly for underground rappers 'just to show who we are in this hip hop game' confirms BeeGee.
Southdowns, Northend, Riverside, Thornhill etc are among the elite residential areas of Gweru..
Hotels
There is a victorian style hotel, the Midlands Hotel which is thought to be the oldest building in the city centre with more than 100 years. It was about to demolished but after much protest, it was spared. Fairmile Motel is just a mile from the city centre on Bulawayo road.
Mining
Gweru lies very close to Great Dyke therefore is also minerally rich.
Former Rhodesian prime minister Ian Smith was born in the city.
External links
Categories
Cities in Zimbabwe