New Zimbabwe Parliament Building | |
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General information | |
Type | Government offices and legislature |
Location | Mount Hampden, Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe |
Coordinates | 17°41′21″S30°56′34″E / 17.68917°S 30.94278°E [1] |
Construction started | November 2018 |
Completed | April 2022 |
Cost | US$200 million |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 6 |
Floor area | 33,000 square metres (355,209 sq ft) |
Design and construction | |
Main contractor | Shanghai Construction Group |
New Zimbabwe Parliament Building is the seat of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, located in Mount Hampden, Zimbabwe, built to replace the old Parliament House in Harare. [2] The parliamentary chambers within the high-rise building can accommodate up to 650 legislators, their offices, conference rooms and meeting spaces. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract was awarded to Shanghai Construction Group, who erected the building between December 2018 and April 2022. [3]
The building is located on a 50,000 square metres (12 acres) piece of land, in the community of Mount Hampden, in Mashonaland West Province, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of Harare, the capital and largest city in the country. [3] [4] [5]
Under construction since November 2018, the office complex consists of six floors, arranged in concentric circles around a central parliamentary chamber with a seating capacity of 650 people. When finished, the entire complex will comprise approximately 33,000 square metres (355,209 sq ft) of office space. Exterior surface parking for 800 vehicles will be provided in the development. The construction was funded with a US$140 million grant by the Government of China to the Zimbabwean Government. [3] [6]
Zimbabwe's first parliamentary building was constructed in the late 19th century by the colonial rulers of the country. That building had a capacity of 100 legislators. The old building was too small for the 350 legislators and estimated 248 support staff, as of July 2020. The idea of relocating parliament to this site was first conceived in 1983. The construction plans for the new building were approved in October 2017. Construction began in November 2018. Shanghai Construction Group, one of the largest construction companies in the world, was awarded the EPC contract at a monetary price of US$140 million. [3] The building was constructed by the Chinese government as an infrastructure gift. [7]
The completed and furnished parliament building complex was officially handed over by a Chinese government delegation to the government of Zimbabwe on 26 October 2023. The president of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa received the building on behalf of his government and country. [8] Originally valued at US$100 million, the value in September 2023 was reported as about US$200 million, by Zimbabwean media. [9]
The Government of Zimbabwe has ambitions to turn Mount Hampden into a satellite city of Harare by relocating the judiciary and government ministries to this location in the future. The new Zimbabwe Parliament Building is expected to stimulate the construction of new residences and commercial development in the neighborhood. [3] [10]
Harare, formerly Salisbury, is the capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 982.3 km2 (379.3 sq mi), a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metropolitan province. The city is situated in north-eastern Zimbabwe in the country's Mashonaland region. Harare is a metropolitan province which also incorporates the municipalities of Chitungwiza and Epworth. The city sits on a plateau at an elevation of 1,483 metres above sea level, and its climate falls into the subtropical highland category.
The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) is a political organisation which has been the ruling party of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party was led for many years by Robert Mugabe, first as prime minister with the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and then as president from 1987 after the merger with the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and retaining the name ZANU–PF, until 2017, when he was removed as leader.
Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, and formerly known as Harare International Airport and Salisbury Airport, is an international airport in Harare, Zimbabwe. It is the largest airport in the country and serves as the base of Air Zimbabwe, the national flag carrier. It is operated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe.
The Parliament of Zimbabwe is the bicameral legislature of Zimbabwe composed of the Senate and the National Assembly. The Senate is the upper house, and consists of 80 members, 60 of whom are elected by proportional representation from ten six-member constituencies corresponding to the country's provinces. Of the remaining 20 seats, 18 are reserved for chiefs, and two for people with disabilities. The National Assembly is the lower house, and consists of 280 members. Of these, 210 are elected from single-member constituencies. The remaining 70 seats are reserved women's and youth quotas: 60 for women; 10 for youth. These are elected by proportional representation from ten six-member and one-member constituencies respectively, corresponding to the country's provinces.
Saviour Kasukuwere is a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and National Housing between October and November 2017. He was also the ZANU–PF party's national political commissar until December 2017. Before that he was Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment, and Minister of the Environment, Water and Climate. In October 2020, the Zimbabwe government sought Kasukuwere's extradition after issuing a warrant for his arrest. It was revealed that Kasukuwere was among loyalists of former President Robert Mugabe who fled to South Africa before their criminal trials could be completed.
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is a Zimbabwean politician who is serving as President of Zimbabwe since 24 November 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former President Robert Mugabe, he held a series of cabinet portfolios and was Mugabe's Vice-President until November 2017, when he was dismissed before coming to power in a coup d'état. He secured his first full term as president in the disputed 2018 general election. Mnangagwa was re-elected in the August 2023 general election with 52.6% of the vote.
Nelson Chamisa is a Zimbabwean politician and the former President of the Citizens Coalition For Change. He served as Member of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe for Kuwadzana East, Harare. Chamisa was the MDC Alliance's candidate for president in the 2018 general election, having previously been the leader of the party's youth assembly. He was the Presidential candidate for the Citizens Coalition for Change in the 2023 Zimbabwean Presidential election. He has served as the former chairperson of national youth for the same party as well as the Secretary for Information and Publicity for the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). In 2003, at the age of 25, Chamisa became the youngest Member of Parliament. Chamisa was also the youngest cabinet minister in Government of National Unity of Zimbabwe in 2009.
Kembo Dugish Campbell Muleya Mohadi is a Zimbabwean politician and Vice-President of Zimbabwe since 8 September 2023. He previously served in the same role from 28 December 2017 to 1 March 2021, when he resigned. He briefly served as the Minister of Defence, Security and War Veterans in 2017. Previously he was Minister of State for National Security in the President's Office from 2015 to 2017 and Minister of Home Affairs from 2002 to 2015.
Mount Hampden is the parliamentary seat of Zimbabwe in Mashonaland West Province. It is about 18 km from the main capital, Harare. It was the original destination of the Pioneer Column of the British South Africa Company; however, the Column eventually settled some 18 km to the south, in present day Harare. Mount Hampden was named after English politician John Hampden by the hunter and explorer Frederick Courteney Selous.
Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur, politician and the widow of the late President Robert Mugabe. She served as the First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1996 until her husband's resignation in November 2017, a week after he was ousted from power. Starting as a secretary to Mugabe, she rose in the ranks of the ruling ZANU–PF party to become the head of its Women's League and a key figure in the Generation 40 faction. At the same time, she gained a reputation for privilege and extravagance during a period of economic turmoil in the country. She was given the nickname Gucci Grace due to her extravagance. She was expelled from the party, with other G40 members, during the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état.
The Cabinet of Zimbabwe is the executive body that forms the government of Zimbabwe together with the President of Zimbabwe. The Cabinet is composed of the President, the Vice-Presidents, and ministers appointed by the President. Until 1987, the Cabinet was chaired by the Prime Minister; it is now headed by the President.
Harare Metropolitan Province is a province in northeastern Zimbabwe that comprises Harare, the country's capital and largest city, and three other municipalities, Chitungwiza, Epworth and Ruwa. At independence in 1980, it was originally part of Mashonaland Province which in 1983 was divided into three large provinces, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, and Mashonaland West - at this point, the city of Harare became part of Mashonaland East. In 1997, along with Bulawayo, it became a metropolitan province, along with the then two nearby urban settlements. Harare Metropolitan Province is divided into four local government areas - a city council, a municipality and two local boards.
Chirumanzu–Zibagwe is a constituency of the National Assembly of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, located in the Chirumhanzu District in Midlands Province. Mvuma, a small mining town, is one of the largest commercial centers in the constituency. The constituency was created in 2008 from the old Chirumanzu and Zhombe constituencies. Emmerson Mnangagwa, now the President of Zimbabwe, was the inaugural member, followed by his wife, Auxillia Mnangagwa. Its current Member of Parliament is Prosper Machando (ZANU–PF).
In November 2017, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe was removed as president and party leader of ZANU–PF and was replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa.
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Christopher Hatikure Mutsvangwa is a Zimbabwean politician, diplomat and businessman. A veteran of the Rhodesian Bush War, Mutsvangwa served the government of independent Zimbabwe and the ZANU-PF party in a number of roles, including as Director-General of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Ambassador to China, head of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, and Veterans' Welfare Minister.
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