Bulawayo

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Bulawayo

Bulawayo is Zimbabwe's second largest city and it is 439km from the capital, Harare, 111 km from the Botswana border, and on the line of rail via Victoria Falls to Zambia and the copperbelt. Its location was the home of the last Matabele (Ndebele) king, King Lobengula. Bulawayo was one of the country's most attractive cities. It was a major transport hub for Southern Africa until Rhodesia declared UDI, and it was the country's engineering capital. The name Bulawayo is loosely translated 'the place of slaughter' or 'the place of killing', which is derived from the Ndebele word 'bulala' meaning 'kill'.[1]

See Bulawayo Metropolitan Province.

Location

20° 9′ S, 28° 35′ E.
Altitude: 1 250m above sea level
See Distances in Zimbabwe.

History

Originally, Bulawayo was the capital of the Ndebele State during the time of King Mzilikazi. The city was founded by the Ndebele king, Mzilikazi kaMatshobana around 1840.[2] By 1872 it was made a royal town by Mzilikazi. The city's occupation by the British South Africa Company on 4 November 1893, following the 1893 Anglo/Ndebele War, signified the end of the Matabeleland nation and the birth of Bulawayo as a city. This is the day that marked Lobengula's death and the conclusion of the Matabele War. On this day the Union Jack flag was raised representing the official founding of Bulawayo as a town. [3] In 1897, the new town of Bulawayo acquired the status of municipality. It gained city status later, in 1943.

Historically there have been three distinct Bulawayos. Initially named “Gibixhegu”, (now called "Old Bulawayo") was Lobengula's original home from 1871. In 1881, he moved north to the northern part of the modern city, and the capital was later named “ko Bulawayo”. Because it was founded on Lobengula's capital, it is known as the name “City of Kings”. This was then settled on by the colonists post-war.

It attained town status on 1 June 1894 and had the first Municipal Council of 9 elected members in November 1897. By 1943 Bulawayo had attained city status. Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe and the centre of Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South Province, and Bulawayo Metropolitan Province. [4] [5]

Population

Bulawayo is a multicultural city mainly populated by the Ndebele ethnic group which arrived in Zimbabwe in the 19th century from Zululand. Most of Bulawayo's residents can speak at least three languages (including English, Ndebele, Kalanga, Sotho, Nambya, Tonga and Venda).
1969 Rhodesia Census recorded: 187 270 African, 49 703 European, 2 410 Asians, 5 653 Coloureds, for a total of 245 040 people. [6]
2012 Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (ZimStat) survey, the city had a population of 655 675, Males- 304 446, Females- 351 229. [7]

In October 2022, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission released voter population figures to be used to determine the constituencies and or wards that shall be divided under the delimitation exercise. ZEC said the numbers were obtained on 31 May 2022.
Population Totals (May 2022):
Bulawayo Metropolitan - 270 938
Harare Metropolitan - 952 102
Manicaland - 738 624
Mashonaland Central - 536 463
Mashonaland East - 641 668
Mashonaland West - 661 289
Masvingo - 632 320
Matabeleland North - 340 427
Matabeleland South - 267 617
Midlands - 762 928
Total - 5 804376 [8]

Government

In the Zimbabwe 1985 Parliamentary Election, Bulawayo returned to Parliament:

In the 1990 Parliamentary Election (see A History of Zimbabwean Elections) Bulawayo North returned to Parliament:

(Turnout - 13 743, 38.74 %)

Bulawayo South returned to Parliament:

(Turnout 18 789, 56.56 %)

In the 2000 Elections, (see A History of Zimbabwean Elections) Bulawayo North East returned to Parliament:

Bulawayo South returned:

In the 2013 Elections, (see A History of Zimbabwean Elections) Bulawayo Central returned to Parliament:

  • Dorcas Sibanda of MDC–T with 6 365 votes or 56.80 percent,
  • Mlungisi Moyo of Zanu PF with 2 827 votes or 25.23 percent,
  • Sibongile Maphosa of MDC–N with 1 572 votes or 14.03 percent,
  • 4 others with 442 votes or 3.94 percent.

Total 11 206 votes

In the 2013 Elections, (see A History of Zimbabwean Elections) Bulawayo East returned to Parliament:

  • Thabitha Khumalo of MDC–T with 4 560 votes or 37.46 percent,
  • David Coltart of MDC–N with 4 540 votes or 37.30 percent,
  • Kevin Muzvidziwa of Zanu PF with 2 842 votes or 23.35 percent,
  • 4 others with 230 votes or 1.90 percent.

Total 12 493 votes

In the 2013 Elections, (see A History of Zimbabwean Elections) Bulawayo South returned to Parliament:

  • Eddie Cross of MDC–T with 6 364 votes or 66.40 percent,
  • Bafana Andy Dube of Zanu PF with 1 787 votes or 18.65 percent,
  • Esnat Bulayani of MDC–N with 1 078 votes or 11.25 percent,
  • 4 others with 355 votes or 3.70 percent.

Total 9 584 votes

Women Sixty seats were allocated to women in 2013. They were divided into 6 per province, based on a party's share of votes in the province. The parties produced lists of candidates before the elections. Successful candidates are listed in bold. Only parties which had successful candidates are listed. Vote counts for these seats may vary slightly from the official provincial vote totals due to some multiple candidates votes.

Bulawayo Province
MDC–N MDC–T Zanu PF
Jasmine Toffa Thokozani Khuphe Eunice Moyo
Monica Ncube Nicola Watson Molly Ndlovu
Ellen Shiriyedenga Gladys Mathe Fidelia Maphosa
Irene Dube Dorothy Ndlovu Ophar Ncube
Ruth Kuphe Lungile Ncube Canisia Satiya
Brenda Khumalo Nomvula Muguni Mavis Mudoti

2023 Nomination Court

ZEC has released results from the 21 June 2023 nomination court for Bulawayo. [9]
Bulawayo Central Constituency

Bulawayo North Constituency

Bulawayo South Constituency

Cowdray Park Constituency


The Bulawayo Local Government is Bulawayo Municipality.
See also Bulawayo City Council.

Bulawayo Mayor 2023

On 11 September 2023, David Coltart (Cllr Ward 4) was sworn in as the new Mayor of Bulawayo. He was unopposed. CCC hold all 29 Council seats in Bulawayo. Donaldson Mabutho (Cllr Ward 9) was deputy Mayor. The new mayor and councillors observed a minute’s silence in honour of the late former mayor Joshua Malinga, who died last Saturday (2 September) at the age of 79.

In his maiden speech, Coltart, said 'This city has, I believe, the potential to be the greatest city in Africa', acknowledged “massive obstacles and challenges - water shortages, roads littered with potholes, a boom in illegal vending and low revenues, and allegations of corruption. Also the office of mayor had been denuded of effective power and many of the resources that this city used to have access to, such as car licence fees have been removed from the control of this council by the Central Government, which undermines our ability to run this city effectively.” [10] [11] [12]

After the swearing in ceremony, some protestors gathered outside and claimed that Chamisa had “sold out” and that “You can’t come from outside Bulawayo and become Mayors and councillors in Bulawayo,” Patricia Tshabala said.

Coltart (Cllr, Ward4) was elected uncontested, with Donald Mabutho, viewed by some as as an outsider, as Deputy Mayor. [13]

Mayoral Car, 2023

Stating, We are here to serve and not to be served, David Coltart has said he will not accept a new Mayoral vehicle. There is, however, a deficit in vehicles – Bulawayo has six refuse compactors and the minimum needed is at least 11, five ambulances of which the city needs 30 and there are only four fire engines. As Education minister during the 2009-13 inclusive government, Coltart rejected a government Mercedes Benz opting for a Nissan 4×4 which was much better suited to visiting rural schools.

We need to develop a new culture and that doesn’t take any money; it just takes all of us having the same goal and energy. We must be the change we want to see. [14] [15]

Corruption

Mayor David Coltart noted a trend playing out in the last 20 years. A time in which service delivery plummeted, while to councillors have used their positions to allocate themselves stands. If I am to sum up my vision for the city, it is to clean up Bulawayo, it has become clear in my mind that one of the reasons why Bulawayo is not working is because of corruption, which has become endemic. Bulawayo is not working because of corruption, it is driving away potential investors. I want our city to have more investments and we can do that by eradicating corruption, which has become endemic. [16]

Other information

Attributes

  1. Bulawayo has traditionally been the industrial hub of the country with textile, tyre manufacturing, food processing, leather industries, heavy and light engineering concerns, to name a few.
  2. It is the home of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair which is the major international shopping window for Zimbabwe.
  3. Headquarters of the National Railways of Zimbabwe.

International Recognition of Bulawayo

  1. Twice won the United Nations Urban Housing Merit Award for its housing programme.
  2. Was one of 12 finalists world wide in the special global competition to honour local initiatives for addressing environmental and development challenges of the 21st Century which culminated in the United Nations Conference on Environmental and Development that was held in Rio de Jameiro in 1992.
  3. Won 2nd prize in the 1996 Healthy Cities Competition sponsored by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
  4. Partnered the Institute of Housing and Urban Development of the Netherlands in its research on local economic development initiative
  5. Member of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiative (ICLEI) and one of the only 9 Cities in Africa selected for the Africa Sustainable Cities Network.
  6. Chosen as one of the six implementing local authorities and beneficiary of the Sustainable Urban Resilient Water for Africa: Developing Local Climate Solutions (SURE Water for Africa) a five year project under ICLEI.
  7. Twin City with Aberdeen, Scotland.
  8. Twin City with the City of Durban, Ethekwini, South Africa.
  9. Signed Memorandum of Understanding with Polokwane Municipality in South Africa.
  10. Signed Statement of intent with Siping City in China.
  11. Nominated as Africa’s first ResponsABLE City by the United Kingdom based on ResponseABILITY and EnvironMENTAL Leadership Alliance, through which environmental challenges were tackled.
  12. Came first in the Public Sector Category in the Customer Service Award in 2012, 2013,2014 organised by Contact Centre Association of Zimbabwe.
  13. First Municipality in Zimbabwe to launch a Customer Service Call Centre (2012).
  14. First municipality in Zimbabwe to develop a Water and Waste Water Master Plan (2012).

The Waterman

In 1992, Arnold Payne pushed a wheelbarrow containing a 210 litre drum filled with water which he had drawn from Zambezi River to Bulawayo, Gwanda and Harare. After successfully reaching Bulawayo from Zambezi, Payne stated that; If one man can manage to ferry the water on a wheelbarrow in a drum 500 kilometres, what can stop a willing and committed government from pumping the water from the same distance.

This act was a symbolic gesture meant to raise the urgency of those in positions of power to spearhead the development of the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project, for Matabeleland.

Tourism

Bulawayo is itself a tourist centre with historical, game and bird sanctuaries and nature sites. It is also a hub to get to Victoria Falls and {[Hwange National Park]]. Great Zimbabwe is three hours away.

See Top Ten Things To Do in Bulawayo.

Also in and nearby are the;

See Holiday Inn Bulawayo
See Bulawayo Rainbow Hotel
See N1 Hotel Bulawayo

Healthcare

The United Bulawayo Hospitals, a public hospital network, operates Bulawayo Central Hospital, Richard Morris Hospital, Lady Rodwell Maternity Hospital, and Robbie Gibson Infectious Diseases Hospital.
Mpilo Central Hospital, is in Bulawayo. It has a nursing school and midwifery school on its campus.
Bulawayo is also home to Ingutsheni Hospital, which at 700 beds is the largest psychiatric hospital in Zimbabwe.
Other hospitals include All Saints Children's Hospital, Hillside Hospital, Mater Dei Hospital, the Nervous Disorders Hospital, St Francis Hospital, and Thorngrove Isolation Hospital.
See also Bulawayo Assisted Reproductive Technology Centre.

Media

The Chronicle, a state-owned daily newspaper, and its Sunday edition, The Sunday News, are published in Bulawayo. The Chronicle is the second-oldest newspaper in Zimbabwe, and along with The Herald, published in Harare, it is one of two major state-owned newspapers in the country.
UMthunywa, a state-owned Ndebele-language newspaper, is also published in Bulawayo.
Private online publications like Bulawayo24 News and B-Metro are also based in Bulawayo.

See Bulawayo Agenda

Education

Bulawayo is home to the National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe, (NUST), which was established in Bulawayo in 1991. Solusi University, a Seventh-day Adventist institution established in Bulawayo in 1894, gained university status in 1994.

The Bulawayo Polytechnic offers tertiary training for students who have completed GCE O Level and A Level education. It issues national certificates NC, Diplomas and higher national diplomas HND certificates.

Specialist teacher training colleges:

Other institutes of technology and vocational colleges;

In addition companies;

offer apprenticeship training for qualifying students who then become certified artisans upon completion of studies.

Climate

Bulawayo's temperatures ranges from 14 °C in winter to 28 °C in summer. Rainfall in the capital averages 575mm annually.

Sports

Bulawayo is home to the Queens Sports Club and Bulawayo Athletic Club, two of the three grounds in Zimbabwe where test match cricket has been played. Bulawayo Golf Club, the first golf club in the city and country was established in 1895. The Matsheumhlope Stream cuts through the 18 hole course in the suburbs.

Bulawayo is home to two large football teams: Highlanders Football Club and Zimbabwe Saints. Other football teams include Bulawayo Chiefs Football Club, Chicken Inn Football Club, and Bulawayo City Football Club. See Bulawayo Chiefs.
See Luveve Stadium.

Bulawayo is home to Hartsfield Rugby grounds where many international Test matches have been played. Hartsfield was developed by Reg Hart.

Other sporting and recreational facilities include:

References

  1. CityByo, Home, 'CityByo', Published: ND, Retrieved: 24 Apr 2014
  2. Bulawayo
  3. Byo 1872, History of Bulawayo City, Zimbabwe, 'Bulawayo 1872', Published: ND, Retrieved: 24 Apr 2014
  4. [Katherine Sayce (Ed), Tabex, Encyclopedia Zimbabwe], Tabex, Encyclopedia Zimbabwe, (Quest Publishing, Harare, 1987), Retrieved: 25 July 2019
  5. [R. Kent Rasmussen (ed), Historical Dictionary of Zimbabwe/Rhodesia] (The Scarecrow Press, London, 1979) Retrieved 8 August 2019"
  6. [Mary Akers (ed.), Encyclopaedia Rhodesia] (The College Press, Salisbury, 1973) Retrieved 8 August 2019"
  7. Nqaba Matshazi, Storm over Byo census results, 'The Standard', Published: 23 Dec 2012, Retrieved: 24 Apr 2014
  8. ZEC Releases Voter Population Figures To Determine Areas That Need To Be Divided, Pindula, Published: 17 October 2022, Retrieved: 17 October 2022
  9. ZEC releases Bulawayo Nomination Court results, Chronicle, Published: 22 June 2023, Retrieved: 22 June '2023
  10. Coltart sworn in as Bulawayo mayor, vows to ‘restore city to its greatness’, Zimlive, Published: 11 September 2023, Retrieved: 21 September 2023
  11. New era for Bulawayo as Coltart elected mayor, The Zimbabwean, Published: 11 September 2023, Retrieved: 21 September 2023
  12. [Lhttps://www.chronicle.co.zw/coltart-elected-bulawayo-mayor/ Coltart elected Bulawayo mayor], The Chronicle, Published: 12 September 2023, Retrieved: 21 September 2023
  13. Chamisa has sold out – says protesters as Coltart is elected Bulawayo Mayor, Pindula, New Zimbabwe: 11 September 2023, Retrieved: 21
  14. David Coltart rejects Bulawayo mayoral vehicles, Zimlive, Published: 20 September 2023, Retrieved: 21 September 2023
  15. I do not need new mayoral car- Coltart, The Chronicle, Published: 19 September 2023, Retrieved: 21 September 2023
  16. Coltart admits opposition failure, blunders in Bulawayo, The Chronicle, Published: 20 September 2023, Retrieved: 21 September 2023

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