Gweru as the New Capital City.

There has been talk of moving the capital city from Harare to Gweru which sparked debate among many all over the nation. Have given much thought on the topic and have come to the conclusion that it would be a beneficial move to adopt. For many it seems insane to make such a decision as they have only known Harare to be the Capital since we gained our Independence from Colonial rule in 1980. However given the massive need for decentralization of power and functions such a move will greatly benefit the nation. To clarify this idea, moving the capital city means moving the administrative and political duties, meaning the President's office, Cabinet, Parliament, Judicial services will now all reside in Gweru. Harare will continue as the Financial capital which it already is but those aforementioned duties will now be moved to Gweru.

As much as Harare is engraved in peoples minds as the only plausible capital it is however now not capable of handling the population growth. Harare has no space to expand into, it has reached its limit in terms of expansion. The city council can now not even afford to deliver regular clean water for all its residents, it also cannot even afford to house all of the people in the city as witnessed by the growth of Peri-urban areas around Harare such as Domboshawa, Goromonzi, Seke..etc where many are finding refuge. There have been a number of disease outbreaks in the city further highlighting the fact that the city of Harare is also failing to provide a clean and healthy environment for its residents. The Government has been suggesting shifting the capital into Mount Hampden which sounds good and may work to an extent but its closeness to the current capital will add further stress to the already strained resources (water, land for accommodation).

Zimbabwe since independence has been undergoing its own internal ethnic challenges, if one reads our history it seems as if we have one ethnic group, the others play second fiddle which has led to a system where only certain ethnic groups control the nation and due to that only certain regions develop. Those ethnic challenges are one of the major reason for this resistance to change especially resistance from those in power. In order to move the country forward there is need to resolve those ethnic issues and fully engage the spirit of Ubuntu that many African countries pride in.

In that same vein one of the major benefits of moving the Capital city to Gweru will be inclusion of all ethnic groups in the nation. The Capital will now be in a more central location which will enable certain excluded people who could previously not easily access the Capital City to be able to access it more easily and conduct business in the Capital at a rate they could not previously. As more regions start getting included in how the country is run, it will lead to more balanced development across all the regions. The now central location of the Capital City will improve business in the southern part of the country which in a way seems overlooked as they will have a huge market of their goods and services close-by.

Accessibility is an important part of any major city and Gweru already has a commendable road network stemming from it,  you can connect to all the other major cities from Gweru. The road network is however not as connected to Harare but for a start it can do the job but more development will be needed to create a road network befitting of a capital city.

Gweru is already named the city of progress, highlighting the role given to the city after the nation gained independence. Given its location Gweru will provide an easily accessible industrial center for foreign markets. On top of the being easily accessible by road, the city is also at the center of the nation's rail network. For industry to thrive a good rail network is vital and Gweru connects to every major city and to all the major border posts in the country, there will be an urgent need to revive the rail sector. 

Unfortunately when it comes to air travel the city has no airport. Given the new role of the city, an airport will be an vital requirement, it will need to be built before the move is even complete.

On top of the airport and improved road network , the city will benefit from improved infrastructure and improved services from all service providers. Besides having the biggest (by numbers) and most vibrant University in the nation Gweru has not seen much development over the years and that will all change if the city becomes the new capital city. Harare has been developing way more than any other city because they control the nations financial, judicial, political and administrative power. If some of that power is shifted to Gweru, we will witness a massive improvement in the city in all aspects.

Its however inevitable that here will be need for some major investment which is already long overdue. The city has been having challenges with water supply and there will be need improve the water management system (Read more: Gweru Water Crisis, Germany Comes to the Rescue). There will be need to increase the capacity of the water reservoirs as the move will likely lead to an increase in population.

Despite all the challenges mentioned and some which I have not mentioned, it will prove a beneficial move for the nation a s whole. They say unity is the way to go and such a move will help the country unite and break the ethnic boundaries that has been holding us back.

Yours Truly

A Zimbo Who Loves Innovation