Selukwe

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 1899 on the Selukwe Goldfield, which itself was discovered in the early 1890s, not long after the annexation of Rhodesia by the Pioneer Column.

The town lies in well wooded, hilly and picturesque country at an altitude of about and is well watered having a typical annual rainfall of . On a clear day, it is quite possible to see the hills around Masvingo and Great Zimbabwe, with the latter being over away.

History

Selukwe was established in 1899 by the British South Africa Company and Willoughby's Consolidated Company. Its name was derived from a nearby bare oval granite hill that resembled the shape of a pigpen (''selukwe'') of the local Karanga people.

The district remains an important centre for gold, chrome and platinum mining, but it is perhaps best known as the home district of Ian Douglas Smith, a former Prime Minister of Rhodesia, who owned the 4,000-acre Gwenoro Farm near Gwenoro Dam.

Industry and agriculture

The town is the terminus of a branch rail line from Gweru (formerly Gwelo), to the north. Shurugwi is one of Zimbabwe's largest producers of chrome; other metals also are mined there. Its healthful climate and scenic location attract tourists and retired people. The largest employers are ZIMASCO, Unki mine (a subsidiary of Anglo-American through its platinum wing, Angloplats), the government (through education), agriculture and health care.

Most farmers are peasant farmers who grow maize and other high grain-producing crops. Animal husbandry is also practised to some extent.

Natural resources

The town is located on a mineral-rich Archaean greenstone belt, known in this area as the Selukwe Schist Belt,Vermaak CF(1986) Summary Aspects of the Economics of Chromium. in: Anhaeusser CR & S Maske, Eds. Mineral Deposits of Southern Africa II. Geol. Soc. S. Afr. p1170 making it one of the most mineral-rich towns in the country. Chromite, gold and nickel are all mined around Shurugwi. The town is also located on one of the most beautiful places in Zimbabwe, Wolfshall Pass, commonly known as Boterekwa due to the winding of the road as it negotiates its way up and between mountains. This is very similar to the pass close to Louis Trichardt in South Africa since both were constructed by an Italian firm, the only difference being that there are tunnels in Louis Trichardt. It has been the scene of many road accidents, with most of them fatal. The most notable of these accidents occurred in 1966, when a bus load of students from Chrome Secondary School overturned; only three teachers survived the crash.

Facilities

Most of the infrastructure in Shurugwi is very old. There was only one hotel in the town center – the Grand Hotel, which used to operate as a bar before it was turned into a shop for building materials and motor spare parts. Slowly, the town of Shurugwi is being transformed to suit all kinds of business activities, contrary to its past as a gold trade center. The population have doubled as compared to the last decade. Apart from mining, it is now growing into an agriculture sector.

Education

There are a number of schools in Shurugwi, including Parkinson High, Chrome High, Shurugwi 2, Batanai High School, Charles Wraith Primary, Railway Block Primary School, Peak Mine Primary, Selukwe Primary, Ironsides Primary Impali primary (Owned by Unkie Mineetc. Most of the better secondary schools are found in the Shurugwi rural area, such as Pakame Mission, one of the oldest schools in the country, a Methodist-run mission school which is about by road on the South towards Zvishavane, close to Guruguru Mountain, a volcanic solid rock mountain in Shurugwi Rural Areas; Tongogara High School, a government operated boarding school to the East and Hanke Adventist High School, an SDA run school on the North of Tongogara. Next to Hanke, there is a school called Svika High, named after a nearby Svika mountain, which are the rural areas of Francis Nhema, the Zanu Pf Member of Parliament for Shurugwi North. All these schools offer up to Advanced Level ("A-Level") education.

There also are some post-independence-era schools with basically poor standards of education, with pass rates of below 5% on Ordinary Level ( O-levels), which is due to a lack of quality teachers who normally do not want to teach in rural areas. Rusununguko Secondary School, which is along the Chivi/Beit Bridge road, is one of the few schools to attain A-level status in its class.

Shurugwi also has rural primary schools, such as Vungwi Primary School, Matamba Primary School, Tumba Primary Schools, Dhlemiti Primary school, Chironde Primary school, Zvizhazha Primary School, Mavedzenge Primary School, Musavezi Primary School and Nhema Primary School. Most of the graduates leave Shurugwi after primary/secondary education to pursue further education, usually A levels, in other towns as far as Harare. A relative minority ultimately end up studying at the University of Zimbabwe and other post independent universities in Zimbabwe or even at universities abroad. Shurugwi has produced a considerable number of professionals, notably Chartered Accountants, lawyers, engineers and medical doctors. There is a private college Institute of Business Technology, popularly known as IBT College, founded by Dr Godfrey Gandawa, that offers academic school forms 1 to 6, and professional and computing courses at national foundation certificate, national certificate and national diploma levels with HEXCO examination status.

Mhangami Primary School is an Anglican church-run school. Originally called St Pius, it was renamed Mhangami in honour of the local Chief Mhangami. The school was established in 1943 and offers up to grade 7.

Shurugwi has quite a number of notable schools that drive the academic excellence of the town, which are notably:

Notable residents

* Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia and Member of Parliament of Zimbabwe
* Nyaradzo Mashayamombe, founder of Tag A Life International Trust (TaLI)

References

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Populated places in Midlands Province
Populated places established in 1899