Shurugwi’s newest hotel has a training school

THE mining town of Shurugwi is undergoing a remarkable transformation following the recent opening of Scenic Hotel, which also functions as a tourism training school.

The facility, commissioned last week by Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Owen Ncube, has breathed new life into the Sebanga area on the outskirts of Shurugwi. This development aligns with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority’s (ZTA) national tourism growth strategy, which aims to position Zimbabwe as a premier destination for sustainable tourism.

The National Tourism Master Plan (2019–2030) underpins these efforts, focusing on boosting tourism’s contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

ZTA regional manager Mrs Linda Ntuli hailed the opening of Scenic Hotel as a milestone in Shurugwi’s development.

“We had a target of 1 025 rooms for 2025 and the inclusion of a new player takes our room stock to 1 089, meaning we are way above our target for 2025. This is the beginning of the year, and it’s an exciting development for us in terms of new infrastructure, job creation, and in terms of perception when it comes to Shurugwi as a destination,” she said.

Scenic Hotel managing director Mr Moses Zuva attributed the project’s success to the Second Republic’s “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” mantra and President Mnangagwa’s “Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo” initiative, which emphasises community-driven development.

“The President is very clear with his ‘Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo’ mantra, which also prompted us to spring into action. If we look at this area it used to be a residential area, but we have decided to commercialise it,” he said.

Mr Zuva added that the hotel is also assisting the local community by providing access to clean water.

“The community will start to enjoy some spin-off benefits from the traffic of people for the facility. We also have an abundance of clean water where we are assisting the community in the process.”

Shurugwi Town Council chairperson, Councillor Fanuel Machiya, expressed pride in the town’s development trajectory, which he said is paving the way for Shurugwi to attain municipality status by 2030.

He said infrastructure growth is a key criterion for achieving municipality status and noted that the council’s efforts are set to boost revenue collection and enhance service delivery.

Clr Machiya said with more projects like these, Shurugwi is well on its way to becoming a fully-fledged municipality by 2030.

The US$7,8 million shopping mall is being constructed in line with the Second Republic’s urban renewal and smart city concept.

“As a council, we are happy with the ongoing development trajectory. We have a lot of infrastructure development taking place as we target to reach a municipality status by 2030,” said Clr Machiya.

“Some of the major aspects to be considered for a full municipality status are issues to do with infrastructure and we intend to have more of such facilities. The issue of revenue collection is set to increase as well.”