Moves to make Empress a growth point

Acting Chief Executive Officer of Zibagwe Rural District Council (ZRDC), John Takavarasha said ever since the mine stopped its operations the area has become a ghost area even though there is some infrastructure in the form of houses remaining.

“There are some medium and low density houses in the area and our plan is to make the area a growth point,” he said.

There are more than 400 houses that were built by Empress Mine.

However, when the mine stopped operations the houses were left with no one to take care of them until villagers settled in.

“We have since moved in and took over more than 400 houses that were built by Empress Mine in Zhombe district to house its employees. We realised that leaving the houses just like that will create a ghost centre that was most likely to become a haven of social mischief and unnecessary social ills like prostitution. Some villagers had just moved into the houses without proper documentation. we are making efforts to regularize ownership of the property. Council has created an inventory of the houses as part of efforts to normalize the situation,” he said.

Takavarasha said the rural district council was offering the houses to those who wanted them on a rent to buy basis and was closing registration on 6 August.

“The center has the potential to grow into a growth point that will be the largest in Zhombe. In the long run we are going to establish the growth point because there is a very large dam nearby and water is abundant in the area while most services are already available.

“There is another mine that has also expressed interest and has applied to use some of the houses as it intends to revive the remaining vestiges of the abandoned mine. We have since opened a sub-office that is now ready for use as a council revenue collection office at Empress Mine,” he said.

The area, he said, has massive potential to grow as some sector ministries were coming in to spruce up the mining centre into a vibrant mining town adding that it is at the mining centre where the Rio-Tinto Agricultural College was housed.