Cry beloved Mat North

Rutendo Mapfumo Features Correspondent
Heavy trucks and front-end loaders frolic like ants, turning the ground upside-down in search of minerals scampering the wildlife that has for years known the areas as their home.At the same time tourists converge on this area to see the beauty of nature, with their floppy hats covering their soft skin from the scorching Hwange sun.

The sound of the big trucks is the sound of the day. Day in day out, even during the night, the trucks ferry goods to neighbouring countries and this leaves one to wonder about the other side of life or the flip side of the coin in such an environment.

It is the middle of the school term and the young girls in most parts of Matabeleland North such as Tsholotsho are seated at home waiting for the next farming season and doing absolutely nothing.

The lucky, stronger and the brave ones walk in the dusty roads between villages to the nearest grass thatched satellite school which is about 15 kilometres away from their homesteads.

The young boys in the area have given up on going to school due to the long distances opting for what they call “idouble up” going across the border to the neighbouring countries without travelling documents.

In other parts of the province, the roads continue to deteriorate. The dusty road connecting Nkayi and Lupane is not convenient to any car but suitable for a four wheel drive. The hospitals are serviced by non-governmental organisations that supply them with medical kits and medication.

Water in most parts of the province is so scarce and villagers travel at least one kilometre to get the precious liquid. Government has, however, tried to lessen the burden by drilling boreholes in some of the areas through the District Development Fund but more still needs to be done.

According to Mr Luke Ncube, Nkayi District is one of Zimbabwe’s most impoverished areas.
“We have accepted our situation.  Some people find the province unfriendly because of the high temperatures many business people are not keen to invest in such areas hence the lack of service provision for the public.”

Mr Ncube added that most of their children do not even bother to go school because of hunger that stalks the areas.
“I would not allow my child to walk 15 kilometres to school with an empty stomach,” he said.

According to information from Government officials in Hwange, most of the schools in Hwange and Binga District are satellite schools.
Primary and Secondary Education Ministry officials also added that while the schools are sufficient enough the districts continue to record the highest number of school dropouts.

Although a lot of negativity has been said and written about the Matabeleland North province, it remains one of the richest yet poor in Zimbabwe.

It is in this province where there is biggest tourist attraction, where hordes of people, both local and foreign visitors come and to see the majestic Victoria Falls, one of the largest waterfalls stretching over the width of 1 700m and standing at 108 metres tall.

It is again in this place where there is the Hwange National Park, where there is the largest thriving elephant population.
Conservation work in the Hwange National Parkhas ensured that it now has one of the largest groups of African wild dogs on the continent.

Moreso, economically the province is rich of coal fields which has been contributing greatly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Among the leading coal mining companies are Hwange Colliery Company Limited, The Makomo Resources and Coal Brick just to mention a few.

The province also hosts most of the global events which attracts the whole world since it has the majority of hotels and lodges.
Matabeleland North contributes greatly to the country economy as it has a very active sector sectors which include tourism and mining.

But the million dollar question is why is Matabeleland Province is one of the poorest province yet with so much resources?
With time, the availability of resources in the province, will hopefully close the poverty gap and turn Matabeleland North provinces one of the resourceful and rich provinces in the country.