adminwas the hotbed of nationalist politics.
In 1954, Robert Mugabe, then a young man, taught at Mambo Primary School, a spitting distance from the city centre on the western side.
Today, just about 2km from Mambo School, a house has been built and internally decorated not only to tell the story of President Mugabe but also to promote the virtues, values and principles of a life well lived.
Gweru businesswoman Mrs Smelly Dube built the house, a replica of President Mugabe’s house in Highfield, Harare, of course with modern fittings.
Pictures of Cde Mugabe and his colleagues in their early nationalist days are displayed on the walls and the pictures really tell the story.
Mrs Dube built the house and a water booster station in Woodlands Park through her company, River Valley Properties (Private) Limited.
“I grew up admiring the works of the President and when I got land through the land reform programme I believed I would achieve the goal of giving back to the community on behalf of our revolutionary leader.
“This house pays tribute to the good work the President has done for the good of this country.
“This house is complete as you can see and it is fast becoming a township tourism project. It is my dream for the First Family to sleep here one day and then open it as museum of his pictures. We have put the kind of pictures that tell his story. The interior decoration has cost me about US$16 000.
“We are doing the last touch-ups, otherwise it is as good as finished,” says Mrs Dube.
Outside the house, a huge crocodile sculpture invites the visitor, is being fitted with a huge colour screen that will display captioned pictures of the President’s life, especially when he was teaching in Gweru in the 1950s.
Like or hate President Mugabe, wherever he has been, the veteran nationalist has left footprints and a trail of admirers. Obvious 1954 is not a short time ago. Several moons have gone into years that have rolled into decades.
The house is worth more than US$50 000 and there is also a booster pump worth US$500 000 and will supply water to more than 4 300 households in Hertfordshire Phase 1 and 2.
Mrs Dube also handed over 1 000 medium- and high-density residential stands to civil servants in the city and is now working on availing building material which recipients of the stands will get on credit and repay on a monthly basis.
Mrs Dube got Woodlands Farm under the land reform programme in 2007 and has turned it into a thriving new residential area for Gweru.
Mrs Dube, who has provided accommodation for thousands of people in Gweru, says she was inspired by Philip Chiyangwa’s Pinnacle Holdings.
“I have always admired the work of President Mugabe but on the housing scheme I was really inspired by Phillip Chiyangwa’s business model through Pinnacle Holdings. I must say I learnt a lot and I have tried to implement this kind of housing scheme for the ordinary people to benefit. Many people need houses but fail to access stands because of their poverty.
“We are saying every person deserves a roof to live under. That means we must have accommodation affordable to everyone. We will try our best to assist people get decent accommodation,’’ says Ms Dube
Only last week, Mrs Dube scooped the Midlands Provincial Businesswoman of the Year award at the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce belated ceremony held in the city.
“I am really thankful to President Mugabe who gave women the opportunity to climb up the ladder in the post-independence era.
“I thought I was lessening the burden on desperate home seekers and little did I know there were people watching what I was doing.
“I feel proud to be a woman and I thought when I was doing it, I did it to demystify the misconception that we cannot be at par with men. I appreciate the empowerment programmes pioneered by President Mugabe,” she said.
In many countries township tourism is becoming very popular with the tourism and hospitality industry in countries like South Africa, cashing in on Nelson Mandela’s house in Soweto.
Hundreds of people visit Mandela house to see the place he lived and the furniture he used, while he stayed there.
It is envisaged that with more pictures and more detailed accounts of President Mugabe’s life story, many people, especially the younger generation will benefit from his wisdom, vision and political artistry.
There is no doubt that the house is a noble idea and that there are more benefits for generations to come, in learning the history of the veteran leader.
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Online Reporter