Cha Cha Cha Township simply known as ''Cha Cha Cha'' is a rural shopping centre in

Shurugwi Rural Areas Shurugwi Rural Areas, also known as Shurugwi District, is a rural area around Shurugwi, Zimbabwe, mainly to the east, beginning from the town centre. The area between the town and the rural areas was mainly occupied by white commercial farmers. I ...

, 24 km South East of

Shurugwi Shurugwi, originally known as Selukwe, is a small town and administrative centre in Midlands Province, southern Zimbabwe, located about south of Harare, with a population of 22,900 according to the 2022 census. The town was established in 189 ...

along the

Beit Bridge Beitbridge is a border town in the province of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. The name also refers to the border post and bridge spanning the Limpopo River, which forms the political border between South Africa and Zimbabwe. The border on the ...

road and from

Gweru Gweru, originally known as Gwelo, is a city in central Zimbabwe. It is on the centre of Midlands Province. Originally an area known to the Ndebele as "The Steep Place" because of the Gweru River's high banks, in 1894 it became the site of a m ...

. The tarred road from 12 km before

was constructed by a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

company called China-Gansui. It is considered strategically located for accessibility within the rural areas of

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, therefore it can not be considered a remote area. It is relatively below standards with potholes experienced sinking in some stages, and was heavily affected by the floods during the summer of 2000. The shopping centre, township as it is known in

, was at one stage bigger than some of the small towns such as

and

Zvishavane Zvishavane, formerly known as Shabani, is a mining town in Midlands Province, Zimbabwe. Surrounded by low hills, it lies west of Masvingo, on the main Bulawayo-Masvingo road. Other roads lead from Zvishavane to Gweru, north, and Mberengwa, ...

but things started deteriorating due to the economic meltdown experienced in the country.

History

Cha Cha Cha was derived from the name of the hotel in the township which is called Happy Cha Cha Cha Hotel. It was known for organizing events that featured local Cha Cha Cha dancers. Cha Cha Cha was an administration centre for the

Boers Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...

mainly of them farmers during its early days, but was later turned into a camp for the soldiers during the days of

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 191920 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. He w ...

. The idea was to develop it into one of the biggest towns, if not cities since there was a hospital and an 'airport' nearby. The original name was Donga Township, which was due to the vast number amount of dongas through that had been lost due to erosion. In 1980, it was renamed

Herbert Chitepo Herbert Wiltshire Pfumaindini Chitepo (15 June 1923 – 18 March 1975) was a Zimbabwean politician and nationalist leader who led the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) until he was assassinated in March 1975. Although his murderer remains ...

Business Centre after the late liberation struggle hero but that name failed to be recognised.

Main routes

It is at a confluence where major road routes meet. All traffic flows from

on one road only to divert into different roads at Cha Cha Cha. The main road continues to

where traffic to

Mashava Mashava, originally known as Mashaba, is a mining village in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southea ...

and

Masvingo Masvingo, known as Fort Victoria during the colonial period, is a city in southeastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city lies close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and clos ...

will divert to the east while

and

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

will divert west-wards after 49 km. The

road will continue straight on.

Landing ground

There is a landing ground for small to medium airplanes.

Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...

makes use of it when he visits the area which happens once every 25 years, as in January 2006 he had only visited the area twice making him a generally unknown figure among the rural people who voted him into power. Due to the poor state of the dusty/dirty road, motorists have opened up several tracks through the landing area which is an even more clear sign of economic hardship.

Main schools

Vungwi Primary School, Wida Primary School, Mhangami Primary School, Mupangai Secondary School, and Rusununguko Secondary School are all within 5 km from Cha Cha Cha Township.

Main shops

The major business at Cha Cha Cha is retail. Most of the businessmen are general dealers, and two bakers are operating in the township and about four millers. Ganyani was traditionally the biggest shop due to its business diversity. There are also several bottle stores and two beer halls making it the 'only' best place to relax.

Growth point statures

After the demise of Tongogara Township to be the growth point in

mainly due to its location, the status was moved to Cha Cha Cha. This has seen a

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

being opened at the centre and several supermarket chains have since tried their luck there. During the early years of the two townships, there was a competition to grow but Cha Cha Cha easily won it because of its location. There is only one bus route passing through Tongogara.

Residential areas

After 1990 residential stands were allocated to develop a residential suburb-like area which was to kick start the development of Cha Cha Cha Township towards a town status but the economic conditions have hampered such aspirations. The combination of available facilities and improved access has established Cha Cha Cha as a functional regional center. Meanwhile, new residential buildings are being developed, with several companies locating their regional offices there.

Surrounding villages

Marira, Mbengo, Ndanga, Ndawana, Mhangami,Kuziyamisa and others all are the sphere of influence of Cha Cha Cha Township.

References

{{coord missing, Zimbabwe Populated places in Midlands Province