ZVISHAVANE, which a few years ago appeared to be turning into a ghost town following the collapse of asbestos mining, is now on the rebound with business booming.
By Musa Dube
The small town is now flooded with cars of different shapes and sizes, a tale sign that business is once again brisk in the Midlands town.
While many cities and towns in the country are crying over the liquidity crunch, the story is a bit different in Zvishavane. Recently The Standard was in the mineral-rich town where it observed the changing fortunes of the people.
The presence of illegal gold miners and the platinum mining company, Mimosa, has left the Zvishavane as one of the busiest towns in the country.
Deep at the centre of the town are state-of-the-art restaurants and fully furnished pubs that can compete with any in the country and even beyond.
Also lining up the overcrowded streets are the country’s major banks and retail shops.
Not to be outdone are food courts that are packed with customers. A lot of flea markets have sprouted everywhere, fully stocked with mostly imported household products and clothes from China, South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique.
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Business people spoken to attributed the brisk business being recorded to a lot of gold panners that are operating on the outskirts of the town.
The cash-spending panners come from as far as Beitbridge, Mberengwa, Gwanda and Bulawayo.
Gold is said to be in abundance in the areas surrounding the town with panners raking in as much as US$2 000 in a week while lucky ones occasionally stumble on gold-bearing reefs.
“As you know, Zvishavane is a mineral-rich place and we have a lot gold panners who come from as far as Mberengwa, Masvingo, Gweru and Shurugwi to operate here and they are giving us a lot of business,” said Tobias Nyikadzino who operates an electrical shop in the town centre.
Mimosa mining company employs over a thousand workers and is giving the town good business.
Residents said the town could have grown bigger than other cities like Kwekwe and Gweru, if Shabanie-Mashava Mines (SMM), was still functional.
“Imagine if SMM was fully functional, this town could be somewhere in terms of growth. We were going to witness the town expanding and more businesses also coming to the town,” said one supermarket worker who requested anonymity.
SMM has been at the centre of a protracted ownership wrangle between former owner Mutumwa Mawere and the government.
It is now owned by the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation. Before it was transferred to ZMDC, SMM was under judicial management for two years.
When the company closed, it left an estimated 3 000 workers jobless which almost turned the town into a ghost town.
A majority of Shabanie Mine workers and their families are contributing to the number of people who are now into illegal mining activities.
Others have joined Mimosa mining company.
