THE master plan crafted for the Hwange Local Board (HLB) is expected to add impetus to calls for incorporation of concession areas into council’s jurisdiction, the board’s chairperson councillor Morrison Mafa has said.
The HLB has over the years mooted the idea of incorporating Wankie Colliery Concession Area while residents also petitioned Parliament on the same issue in 2019, with the Hwange Youth Empowerment Trust joining the drive with yet another petition early this year.
Mafa told Southern Eye that council was pushing for incorporation of seven wards in the concession areas into the local board as well as attaining town status.
“We believe that coming up with a master plan will more than make our dream a reality,” Mafa said.
The HLB currently has 10 councillors whose wards do not fall under its administration, but are under private entities, namely Hwange Colliery Company Limited (eight), Zimbabwe Power Company (one) and National Railways of Zimbabwe (one).
Mafa said the incorporation would be a springboard to the growth and turnaround of Hwange urban’s economy.
“Incorporation will enable people to see the perpetuation of Hwange beyond coal mining because we have other sectors of the economy,” he said.
Hwange, better known for its coal mining activities, is also one of the country’s major tourist destinations buoyed by a growing appetite for investments in coal mining and power generation over the past few years.
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The HLB being the urban local authority offers a wide range of investment opportunities in various sectors, as well as downstream industries.
“Let me hasten to say that HLB has over the past few years been planning to come up with a master plan, but lack of adequate funding has derailed this process.
“Thus, the call by His Excellency President Emmerson Mnangagwa for all local authorities to have approved Master Plans by 30 June this year, gave HLB the much-needed impetus to have one,” Mafa said.
