Kwekwe

Kwekwe (/ˈkweɪkweɪ/ KWAY-kway) (known until 1983 as Que Que), is a city in central Zimbabwe.

Location

It is located in Kwekwe District, in Midlands Province, in the center of the country, roughly equidistant from Harare to the northeast and Bulawayo to the southwest. Its population stood at 47,607 in 1982, 75,425 in 1992 and the preliminary result of the 2002 census suggests a population of 88,000. In 2012, the city's population was estimated at 100,900 people. It is a centre for steel and fertiliser production in the country.

Kwekwe and neighbouring Redcliff are the headquarters of Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (ZISCO), the country's largest steelworks. It also hosts the Zimbabwe Iron and Smelting Company, the largest ferrochrome producer, and one of the biggest power generating plants, ZESA-Munyati, in Munyati, a suburb of Kwekwe. Kwekwe is Zimbabwe's richest city in terms of minerals.

Background

Kwekwe town was founded in 1898 as a gold mining town, and hosts Zimbabwe's National Mining Museum. The town remains an industrial centre of the country. The name stems from the Zulu word "isikwekwe", which means "scurvy", "mange" or "scab". Popular belief states that Kwekwe is named after the croaking noise made by the nearby river's frogs.

Kwekwe District

Kwekwe District is a district in Zimbabwe.

Location

It is found is the Midlands Province, in the central Zimbabwe. Kwekwe, with an estimated population of about 99,200 in 2004, is the capital city of the district. The district capital is located approximately 220 kilometres (140 mi), by road, southwest of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe and the largest city in that country. Kwekwe lies on the main road, Highway A-5, between Harare and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second-largest city, located approximately 230 kilometres (140 mi), further southwest of Kwekwe. The coordinates of Kwekwe District are:19° 0' 0.00"S, 29° 45' 0.00"E (Latitude:19.0000; Longitude:29.7500).

Governance

Kwekwe District has two urban subdivisions Kwekwe Municipality (Kwekwe City Council) and Redcliff Municipality (Redcliff Town Council). The third subdivision is the caretaker of the rural part of Kwekwe District, Zibagwe Rural District Council usually called Kwekwe Rural District Council.

There are 60 rural district councils from Zimbabwe's 8 non-metropolitan provinces. Midlands Province has 8 Rural District Councils: