MWENEZI – VIEWING IT FROM THE BIG MIRROR
BY C.R. INGWANI -HLONGWANI.
Approximately 115km South West of the Provincial ancient town of Masvingo lies Mwenezi district, a mopani infested desolate land where edible mopani worms report brisk business at various points during the harvesting period.
Rutenga, the hub of all business activities along Masvingo – Beitbridge highway has all the potential to take it to a dream town of this idle district. The busiest road on Zimbabwean soil, Chirundu- BB tarmac dissects the district on the eastern side making it an adjunct to all business prospects that may arise given the opportunity of their materialization.
Like all other low lying areas such as Dande,Mavhuradonha, Muzarabani , Mwenezi is embedded in the south east Lowveld under Agricultural region 5 where crop farming is only practised on subsistence basis as opposed to commercial purposes.
Generally soils are poor, salty and seasons are marred by erratic rain patterns, no wonder why mopani shrubs are a dominant forest in the district. Ideally, the region suits animal farming ( ranching) and beasts in the region are of high quality because of these favourable climatic conditions.
It is the rate at which development progression is taking its course which worries most and a cause for concern to all who have the district at heart. I’m among those whose hearts are bleeding profusely taking into cognizance that Mwenezi district is one of the most disadvantaged districts on the land .
We have heard of political bigwigs who have influence to transform the places they hail from but our own Mwenezi appears to be just res nullius, something which has no owner to take care of.
The people we have been thrusting to the helm of our district to champion our cause since 1980 have dismally failed us and precisely these guys are charlatans who deserve to be called demagogues, soapbox orators or tub- thumpers who tremple on people who brought fame to them. Its like chopping off the hand that feeds you. We have people in Mwenezi who are not daring. The ones we elevate as our shepherds when they go up there tend to take tranquilizers in large doses and forget about us. They have failed to bring development to the place where their umbilical cords lie.
They have since alligned themselves to the rhetoric,” If the mountain can’t go to Mahomet,then Mahomet must go to the mountain”. The issue of representing people in societal grievances needs typical white ribboners or teetotallers who are sober minded all the time.
Without beating about the bush let me just drive you home and point out something I feel was a big let down by our representatives in Parliament. Mwenezi district partly borders with Mberengwa just near Matibi/ Ngungumbane.
The road from Zvishavane to Neshuro is nicely tarred from the asbestos town to somewhere near Ngezi river at Buchwa Mine but as it tries to pop into Mwenezi it suddenly dies off exposing the red- iron containing soils which makes every transporter hesitant to ply that route.
Why the road remaining gravel such a short distance from Buchwa to Turn-P? This remains a million dollar question and only brings to light the shortcomings of our people who represent us at the August House.
Well, maybe I have gone too far and what I need to abide by is the adage,” Let sleeping dogs lie”. When sleeping dogs have been accorded freedom to lie, another business emanates somewhere.
Of interest,it has come to my realization that individuals who grow up in impoverished environments mostly our African brothers if by chance they manoeuvre life meanders and rise up the ladder and get established somewhere, noone bothers to come back home to invest as part of community development.
Instead, they go to foreign land and help to develop such places. Yes we go out there in search of Greener pastures but our own places of origin can also turn green if we all develop zeal to improve them. Last but not least, I think tribal shunning is very rampant across our beloved Mwenezi of which people denounce their own tribe trying to force allegiance to other tribes. Persuasively I urge you brothers and sisters to desist from this practice and be proud of our tribes wherever we go.
Research has shown that Mlilo, Sithole,Sigauke,Mlambo,Dhliwayo,Mhlanga, Hlongwani and Chauke are all Soshangana olive branches. These people ooze blood from the same vein with the same genetic material and have the same tag pasted on them” Shangani Tribe”.
Interestingly, of the aforementioned people only Hlongwani and Chauke remain boastful of being Shangani and are currently the cog of the tribe. Tribe denouncing starts with somebody writing “Hlongwane” only to evade being called Shangani kkkkkkk.
It has taken so long to bring this individual thinking for other members to digest and capture few nuggets and constructively criticize as adults. Democracy, an anchorstone of all development. The view of the wonderful Mwenezi has come to rest, the eagle has landed.
Let’s love our place,our tribes and above all let’s take our district a stride up and make it the guiding star of other districts.
Let it appear boldly on the map of development.