The Township, located 33km to the east of Nyika Growth Point in Bikita
in the arid province of Masvingo, is now a dirt-poor settlement with
little agricultural activity every year owing to poor soils that hardly
produce meaningful harvests.
The discovery of diamonds in Chiadzwa brought wealth and a huge sigh of
relief to most of the unemployed youths. Those in low paying jobs quit
them in favour of diamond mining. In time, herd boys became property
owners with houses and livestock bought with the money from Chiadzwa.
At Chikuku Growth Point prominent businessman, Douglas Mufunda, who
owns Roots Restaurant made brisk business selling sadza and meat as
well as ice-cold beer to the diamond dealers. Others had followed suit
by opening shops selling radios and television sets as these were
considered items of value among the dealers.
However, after the government embarked on its crackdown on illegal
miners and the notorious "Operation where did you get your vehicle?",
most of the people lost their vehicles and turned to crime to support
themselves.
While normalising the mining activities in a country is a welcome
development on the part of government, more strides are needed in
opening closed down companies and embarking on employment creating
activities to bring to life the comatose economy.
BY STAFF REPORTER
Post published in: Economy