Mwenezi (District)
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Mwenezi Nuanetsi |
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| District | ||
Mwenezi River bisects the district in two on its way to join the Limpopo River in Mozambique in the south.
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| Nickname(s): Masuture | ||
| Motto: Zimbabwe's 2020 best District. | ||
 Districts of Masvingo Province |
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 Masvingo Province constituency seats for the 2008 elections, showing the division of Mwenezi (District) |
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| Country | Zimbabwe | |
| Province | Masvingo | |
| District | Mwenezi | |
| Established | late 19th Century | |
| Government | ||
| • House of Assembly, MP | Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, (East) | |
| • House of Assembly, MP | Pilot Masukume (West) | |
| Population | ||
| • Total | 133,108 | |
| Estimate (UN) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+1) | |
Mwenezi is a small district situated in southern Zimbabwe. It is bisected by the Mwenezi River and the A4 highway, the main thoroughfare that connects the town of Beitbridge, on the border with South Africa, to Masvingo.
Mwenezi derives its name from the Mwenezi River, which provides irrigation water to the sugarcane plantations in and around the Rutenga Business Center. Although the police station is located along the highway, the main administrative offices are located at the Neshuro Business Center. The weather is hot and dry throughout the year, except during the summer when rain is frequent. In 2002, the population of the drought-prone district was estimated to be 126,000, up by 25,000 from 1992, the year of the drought.
Mwenezi lies in natural regions four and five. The district is prone to droughts and experiences low mean annual rainfall. The majority of households in Mwenezi depend on agricultural production, like livestock rearing. The small amounts of rainfall have created a desire amongst households in Mwenezi to shift more towards livestock farming, especially cattle and goats, although the majority of households indicate that they have not been able to restock since the drought of 1992.
As in other rural parts of the country, the schools in Mwenezi are government run, although some have historical links with missionary Christian denominations. There is one boarding school, Lundi Secondary School (run by the Free Methodist Church). The fact that all the secondary schools (other than Lundi) were established after independence, is testimony to the marginalization of the district and the "catching up" it needs to do. Though Zimbabwe has one of the highest literacy rates in the world, in some Mwenezi communities, such as Maranda, a former designated native reserve before independence in 1980, the rate is as low as 50 percent.
Notable schools in Mwenezi include Lundi Secondary School, situated along the Masvingo- Beitbridge Road,Masuture secondary school situated along Masvingo-Beitbridge Road just 60 km away from Lundi Christian high school, Mabhare Secondary School, north of the Mwenezi River but close to Manyuchi Dam, Dengenya Primary School, between Mwenezi and the Mushawe River,Kuwirirana Secondary School, Guiding Star Secondary School.Masogwe Baptist Secondary that was established in 2004 by Pst Nhamo Chigohi on the Neshuro Rd, Maranda High, Hlezana Secondary, Mwenezi Government School, Budirirai Secondary School, Rufaro Secondary school, Masuture Secondary School, Makawire Primary School, Shazhaume Primary School, Pambe Primary School,Zvirikure Primary School, Sarahuro Primary School, Masongwe Primary School, Hebron High School, Neshuro Secondary School, Neshuro Primary SChool,Rutenga Primary School,Gegare Primary School,Matibi Primary School. However, not all villages have secondary schools. Some students, especially those from villages along the Mwenezi River, below the main wall of the Manyuchi Dam, have to walk long distances to school, about fifteen to twenty kilometers. This state of affairs discourages students from going to school, instead opting to cross the border and go to South Africa.
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