Opinion / Columnist
Tears of Silobela
02 Apr 2016 at 11:47hrs | Views
Silobela is an agricultural district under Kwekwe in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. It is located about 60 kilometres west of Kwekwe, 80 kilometres northwest of Gwelo and bordering Nkayi on the west.
The inhabitants of Silobela were relocated from the area between Gwelo and Bulawayo called Hogo in the 1940s.
The relocation was done to allow for white commercial farmers to take up that land. Most of the population is amaNdebele and the most spoken language is isiNdebele.
Crossroads Growth Point is the commercial hub of Silobela, though a major centre in Silobela is Lore to Mission, popularly known as eRoma. Loreto Mission inoperative the Loreto High school, a Roman Catholic boarding school, the Silobela hospital previously known as Loreto Mission Hospital. That's were Godfrey Viki was born, which is the largest medical centre in the region. The Police station with detention cells is also located at Loreto.
The Silobela district is divided in small undocumented villages such as Lahleka, Mpinda, Dimbambiwa, Damba, Mtshogwe, Sinangeni, Jikijela, Donsa, Ntobe, Simana, Nzwananzi, Malisa, BB, etc.
Silobela is rich in gold deposits. Jena mines inoperative Turtle mines, Empress Mines and Leopard mines. Jena mines are owned by Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC). Jena mines being the major employer in Silobela, is estimated to be employing around 600 people, though the majority of the employees are not locals.
Jena mines are estimated tone producing at least 40kg of gold per month.
A new power line from the thermal Mnyathi Power Station has enhanced gold production. Jena mines are the biggest gold producer in Midlands.
Another gold field was discovered recently the mine was named Peace mine. Locals were gold panning at Peace mine, making a living out of it until recently when the government closed the mine in what is anticipated as the mine takeover by the government. That's depriving the people of Silobela rights to their natural resources and a now major source of income.
Our local traditional leadership has failed the people by failing to protect our Godly given resources.
Taking into consideration the history of Jena mines that has operated in Silobela for decades but has failed to produce a meaningful development in Silobela, so will Peace mine under government.
Regardless of the abundance of gold deposits in Silobela, the people of Silobela have remained poor. As usual the employer will bring imports to come and work at Peace mine that's depriving the locals' employment opportunities and the source of income.
Silobela is among the poorest districts in Zimbabwe regardless of her natural resources. People of Silobela remain uneducated as most of the parents fail to send their children to secondary schools due to lack of funds.
Having visited Crossroads during this past Ester holidays, I was left shocked by the sore state of Crossroads Growth Point. The place is filthy. There is no plan of combating the littering of the area. The drainage system is nonexistence. One is left wondering if normal human beings lives there! Being a business centre one would expect the local business men to come up with a plan of keeping the Growth Point clean.
Having mentioned the sore state of the Growth Point, I would have done injustice if I don't mention the prostitution business taking place there!
It must be noted without fear dear residents of Silobela that the local Member of Parliament is running a business of chain stores at Crossroads Growth Point, such as Supermarket, bottle store/ beer Hall and buses.
How he fails to clean a place where he lives leaves a lot to be desired. How can he be expected to develop Silobela and keep her clean if he can clean his own back yard!?
Going back to the prostitution business at Crossroads Growth Point, it must be loudly said the Member of Parliament is housing the prostitutes in his own business backyard! The Member of Parliament's beer hall is the heaven of prostitutes!
But why would the Member of Parliament keep prostitutes in his own premises?
The answer is simple.
The prostitutes bring business to his businesses as young men having spent the whole day panning gold come to his beer hall to drink and leisure. They get the services of loose women who have accommodation on the backyard.
What a shame!
The Member of Parliament has no love for the people of Silobela but their hard earned cash. The Member of Parliament seems not to know or does not care that the prostitution destroys the communities.
Fathers lose money to prostitutes resulting in them failing to support their families. Prostitution spreads Sexual transmitted diseases such as AIDS which is the biggest killer in the African continent. Our local MP is breeding it!
A sick father spread the disease to his unsuspecting wife, resulting in the death if both parents leaving orphans behind.
(I just tried to explain in case our local Member of Parliament does not know the consequences of prostitution within a community)
It must be said that the prostitutes who roam his business premises are not locals but imports that have come to loot our resources, destroy our families and communities then go back to wherever they came from.
Of course they will leave our local Member of Parliament rich in a broken community.
Written by; Cde Godfrey Viki ZAPU Silobela Political Activist. Contact no. +27733556638 Email address vikigodfrey@hotmail.com
The inhabitants of Silobela were relocated from the area between Gwelo and Bulawayo called Hogo in the 1940s.
The relocation was done to allow for white commercial farmers to take up that land. Most of the population is amaNdebele and the most spoken language is isiNdebele.
Crossroads Growth Point is the commercial hub of Silobela, though a major centre in Silobela is Lore to Mission, popularly known as eRoma. Loreto Mission inoperative the Loreto High school, a Roman Catholic boarding school, the Silobela hospital previously known as Loreto Mission Hospital. That's were Godfrey Viki was born, which is the largest medical centre in the region. The Police station with detention cells is also located at Loreto.
The Silobela district is divided in small undocumented villages such as Lahleka, Mpinda, Dimbambiwa, Damba, Mtshogwe, Sinangeni, Jikijela, Donsa, Ntobe, Simana, Nzwananzi, Malisa, BB, etc.
Silobela is rich in gold deposits. Jena mines inoperative Turtle mines, Empress Mines and Leopard mines. Jena mines are owned by Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC). Jena mines being the major employer in Silobela, is estimated to be employing around 600 people, though the majority of the employees are not locals.
Jena mines are estimated tone producing at least 40kg of gold per month.
A new power line from the thermal Mnyathi Power Station has enhanced gold production. Jena mines are the biggest gold producer in Midlands.
Another gold field was discovered recently the mine was named Peace mine. Locals were gold panning at Peace mine, making a living out of it until recently when the government closed the mine in what is anticipated as the mine takeover by the government. That's depriving the people of Silobela rights to their natural resources and a now major source of income.
Our local traditional leadership has failed the people by failing to protect our Godly given resources.
Taking into consideration the history of Jena mines that has operated in Silobela for decades but has failed to produce a meaningful development in Silobela, so will Peace mine under government.
Regardless of the abundance of gold deposits in Silobela, the people of Silobela have remained poor. As usual the employer will bring imports to come and work at Peace mine that's depriving the locals' employment opportunities and the source of income.
Silobela is among the poorest districts in Zimbabwe regardless of her natural resources. People of Silobela remain uneducated as most of the parents fail to send their children to secondary schools due to lack of funds.
Having visited Crossroads during this past Ester holidays, I was left shocked by the sore state of Crossroads Growth Point. The place is filthy. There is no plan of combating the littering of the area. The drainage system is nonexistence. One is left wondering if normal human beings lives there! Being a business centre one would expect the local business men to come up with a plan of keeping the Growth Point clean.
It must be noted without fear dear residents of Silobela that the local Member of Parliament is running a business of chain stores at Crossroads Growth Point, such as Supermarket, bottle store/ beer Hall and buses.
How he fails to clean a place where he lives leaves a lot to be desired. How can he be expected to develop Silobela and keep her clean if he can clean his own back yard!?
Going back to the prostitution business at Crossroads Growth Point, it must be loudly said the Member of Parliament is housing the prostitutes in his own business backyard! The Member of Parliament's beer hall is the heaven of prostitutes!
But why would the Member of Parliament keep prostitutes in his own premises?
The answer is simple.
The prostitutes bring business to his businesses as young men having spent the whole day panning gold come to his beer hall to drink and leisure. They get the services of loose women who have accommodation on the backyard.
What a shame!
The Member of Parliament has no love for the people of Silobela but their hard earned cash. The Member of Parliament seems not to know or does not care that the prostitution destroys the communities.
Fathers lose money to prostitutes resulting in them failing to support their families. Prostitution spreads Sexual transmitted diseases such as AIDS which is the biggest killer in the African continent. Our local MP is breeding it!
A sick father spread the disease to his unsuspecting wife, resulting in the death if both parents leaving orphans behind.
(I just tried to explain in case our local Member of Parliament does not know the consequences of prostitution within a community)
It must be said that the prostitutes who roam his business premises are not locals but imports that have come to loot our resources, destroy our families and communities then go back to wherever they came from.
Of course they will leave our local Member of Parliament rich in a broken community.
Written by; Cde Godfrey Viki ZAPU Silobela Political Activist. Contact no. +27733556638 Email address vikigodfrey@hotmail.com
Source - Godfrey Viki
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