Gokwe | |
---|---|
Nickname: Gokwe Centre | |
Coordinates: 18°13′S28°56′E / 18.22°S 28.94°E | |
country | Zimbabwe |
Province | Midlands |
District | Gokwe South |
Population (2022 census) [1] | |
• Total | 33,075 |
Time zone | UTC+2 (Central Africa Time) |
Gokwe Centre is a rural town in the Midlands province in Zimbabwe. The town is usually referred to as "Gokwe Centre" because the larger region is called Gokwe.
Gokwe is seen in popular Zimbabwean culture and media as a place that is backwards or undereducated. A lot of memes usually make reference to the phrase "Gokwe yazviita zvakare", which translates to "Gokwe has done it again." Gokwe is basically the Zimbabwean equivalent of the USA's Ohio
Gokwe was originally a government station. It housed a district commissioner, police, hospital, veterinary services and other government rural agencies. Primarily for the administration of the district, it was also the base for the control of the tsetse fly and its associated lethal disease trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness).
The place was proclaimed a Growth Point in 1982 under the government's growth points policy.
Gokwe town is a success case of the government's growth point policy whose results in July 2006 culminated in the proclamation by the state that it becomes a town.
Gokwe Growth Point then run by the Gokwe South Rural District Council rapidly turned into a town skipping the Rural Service Center status because of its rapid developmental rate [2] courtesy of the Kwekwe-Gokwe Highway which brought a much needed connectivity to all parts of Zimbabwe through its Kwekwe end link into the A5 Harare to Bulawayo highway. [3]
The step to establish the administrative machinery of the town included the putting in place of a commission appointed by the minister for local government in terms of the urban councils act Chapter 29.15.9.2(b). [4] This appointed commission was to run office until the coming in of elected councilors.
The delimitation team divided Gokwe Center into 6 wards for the 2008 harmonized elections. [5] Consequently, six councilors were elected, and as required two special interest councilors were appointed by the minister in terms of the urban councils act to form the first ever Gokwe Town Council.
From the 2013 harmonized elections Gokwe Town Council is set in place and run according to the Urban Councils Act Chapter 29:15.
Gokwe Town Council is affiliated to the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe and Councilor Esther Senga of Ward 3 (Green Valley) is a committee member of the Presidential Committee of UCAZ. [6]
2008 Local Government Election Results: MIDLANDS PROVINCE: Gokwe Town
1 Tangwara Onias ____ MDC Tsvangirai
2 Sibanda Sithabiso___ MDC Tsvangirai
3 Mashizha Elizabeth_____ MDC Tsvangirai
4 Mudondo Darlington_______ MDC Tsvangirai
5 Mutegwe Lisias ______ MDC Tsvangirai
6 Chipfuko Vengesai_____ MDC Tsvangirai
|SEE 2013_Local Authorities Election Results GOKWE TOWN | External Link
(Ward, name and Political Party)
Gokwe Town Council has Four Department, namely 1. HR and Admin 2. Finance 3. Engineering (Works and Services) and 4. Housing, Health and Community Services.
The town council has built a $300,000 administration block as part of its service delivery. [7]
Refuse collection is done on regular bases and the council has engaged voluntary organizations such as religious groups, churches and women's clubs for litter monitoring, on the Keep Gokwe Clean campaign. [8]
Cheziya High School is the most known institution which offers A'level courses.
Industry in Gokwe is dominated by small scale formal and informal Entrepreneurs. However a number of standard industrial organizations are increasingly filtering in.
Gokwe Town apart from scores of smaller retail shops six major indigenous supermarkets and wholesalers of international standards; Spar, Metro Peach, Choppies, Nyaningwe, Eden Supermarket and Agro Foods are the pride of Gokwe. There are also modern night spots, the Chicago Sports Club, Junior Sports Bar, Gokwe Hotel and Pumba Lodge.
Banks like Barclays bank, CBZ, POSB and other financial houses are also in town, with the Agricultural Bank of Zimbabwe Ltd. (Agribank) [9] topping the list.
Gokwe town has six suburban settlements that include the low density, medium density and the high density.
Currently under MDC supervision
On estimation there are just less than 30 000 inhabitants in Gokwe town. [10]
In 2012 according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat), the town had 6 524 households, housing 10 914 male and 13 140 female mixed lingua residents.
Total population was 24 054, males being 45.4% of the total while female residents were the majority at 54.6%. The growth rate is 2.2%.
By the look of these statistics Gokwe has become bigger than some towns which got town status before Gokwe was even well known business center.
In 2012
There are various government departments in Gokwe town that include the
Parastatal organizations at the center are the
to name a few.
There are Four Primary Schools and Four Secondary Schools in Gokwe Town. Primary Schools 1. St Paul's Primary School 2. Mapfungautsi Council Primary School 3. CZM Primary School 4. Gokwe Town St Agness Primary School
Secondary Schools 1. Cheziya Council High School 2. St Paul's High School 3. Njelele Government High School 4. LOGOS Empowerment Girls High School
Midlands is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 49,166 square kilometres (18,983 sq mi) and a population of 1,614,941 (2012). It is home to various peoples. Located at a central point in the country, it contains speakers of Shona, Ndebele, Tswana, Sotho and Chewa, as well as of various other languages. Gweru, the third-largest city in Zimbabwe, is the capital of the province.
Nkayi is a district in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe, about 100 km (62 mi) west of Kwekwe and 168 km (104 mi) northeast of Bulawayo in Nkayi communal land. It is believed that its name originates from the Tonga word "Uyinkayi" meaning "where are you going". The main language spoken is Ndebele.
Parliamentary elections were held in Zimbabwe on 24 and 25 June 2000 to elect members of the House of Assembly. The electoral system involved 120 constituencies returning one member each, elected by the First Past the Post system, with the President of Zimbabwe then nominating 20 members and ten further members from the Tribal Chiefs sitting ex officio. This was the first national election in which Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party had faced any real opposition since the 1980s. The newly formed Movement for Democratic Change challenged Mugabe's control of parliament. The MDC won 57 of the 120 elected seats, with 47% of the popular vote. Zanu-PF won 63 seats and carried approximately 48% of the popular vote.
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Gokwe South District is one of the eight administrative districts of the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. The district administrative seat is located in Gokwe Town also known as Gokwe Centre and the District Administrator is the focal person in terms of all district administrative matters. The district is divided into two administrative entities under the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, which are Gokwe South Rural District Council and Gokwe Town Council. The two district administrative entities were legally setup under the Urban Councils Act of 2015 [Chapter 29:15] and Rural District Councils Act [Chapter 29:13] under the constitution of Zimbabwe. The district is further subdivided into 01 senatorial constituency, 05 parliamentary constituencies and 33 council wards. These constituencies and wards are shared between these two administrative entities of Gokwe South District. According to the 2012 ZIMSTAT National Census Statistics the population of the district was at 330 036 people. Gokwe district is in the north-western part of Zimbabwe its average temperature vacillates at 40 degrees Celsius. Gokwe South District shares its boundaries with 06 districts, namely Binga District, Nkayi District, Kwekwe District, Kadoma District, Lupane District and Gokwe North District.
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Mutange Dam, across Mutange River, is a manmade earth fill embarkment dam located in Chisina Village, 30 km east of Gokwe and 35 km northwest of Empress Mine, in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. Mutange Dam is 42 km by road from Gokwe and 49 km from Empress, 117 km from Kadoma and 146 km from Kwekwe via Empress. It is owned and operated by the Ministry of Water Resources and Development.