Gwanda
Encyclopedia
Gwanda is the capital of the province of Matabeleland South
in Zimbabwe
. It is located on the Bulawayo
-Beitbridge
road
and railway
. Gwanda was founded in 1900. According to the 1982 Population Census, the town had a population of 4,874. (The town chiefs refused to acknowledge the results of the 1992 census as they felt they had been undercounted; officially that disputed figure was 10,565.) The name Gwanda derives from that of a nearby hill known as Jahunda (Jahunda is also the name of a high density suburb in Gwanda). Its main stadium is called Phelandaba Stadium
and it has 4 primary schools: Jahunda, St Christopher's, Mount Cazalet, and Senondo and has two secondary schools: Gwanda High and Gwanda Government Secondary. Phelandaba Stadium is home to Njube Sundowns, a Zimbabwe premiere league football team.
The town has a provincial hospital (Gwanda Provincial Hospital) which serves as a referral centre for nearby mission and district hospitals. Services provided include emergency/casualty, paediatrics, maternity, eye hospital, expanded programme of immunisation, minor orthopedics/ surgery, and a school of nursing.
The town is the chief centre for southwestern Zimbabwe
's cattle district and also trades in agricultural produce. There are gold, asbestos, and chrome mines around Gwanda.
The name also refers to the rural district around the town. Towns and districts surrounding Gwanda include Mbalabala
, West Nicholson
, Filabusi
, Esigodini
and Matobo
.
Matabeleland South
Matabeleland South is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 54,172 km² and a population of approximately 650,000 . Gwanda is the capital of the province.-Geography:...
in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. It is located on the Bulawayo
Bulawayo
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
-Beitbridge
Beitbridge
Beitbridge or Mzingwane is a border town in the province of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. The name also refers to the border post and bridge spanning the Limpopo River, which forms the political border between South Africa and Zimbabwe.-Background:...
road
A6 road (Zimbabwe)
The A6 is a highway in Zimbabwe running from Beitbridge to Gwanda and Bulawayo.- See also :* Trans-African Highway network...
and railway
Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway
The Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway is a privately owned railway company that provides a rail link in Zimbabwe between Beitbridge at the border to South Africa and Zimbabwe's second city Bulawayo....
. Gwanda was founded in 1900. According to the 1982 Population Census, the town had a population of 4,874. (The town chiefs refused to acknowledge the results of the 1992 census as they felt they had been undercounted; officially that disputed figure was 10,565.) The name Gwanda derives from that of a nearby hill known as Jahunda (Jahunda is also the name of a high density suburb in Gwanda). Its main stadium is called Phelandaba Stadium
Phelandaba Stadium
Phelandaba Stadium is a stadium in Gwanda, Zimbabwe, which was built by the Gwanda Rural Council in 1974. The stadium was named by the founder of Gwanda Ramblers Football Club, the late Gwenxana Maduma, and means "a place where all arguments will be settled."...
and it has 4 primary schools: Jahunda, St Christopher's, Mount Cazalet, and Senondo and has two secondary schools: Gwanda High and Gwanda Government Secondary. Phelandaba Stadium is home to Njube Sundowns, a Zimbabwe premiere league football team.
The town has a provincial hospital (Gwanda Provincial Hospital) which serves as a referral centre for nearby mission and district hospitals. Services provided include emergency/casualty, paediatrics, maternity, eye hospital, expanded programme of immunisation, minor orthopedics/ surgery, and a school of nursing.
The town is the chief centre for southwestern Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
's cattle district and also trades in agricultural produce. There are gold, asbestos, and chrome mines around Gwanda.
The name also refers to the rural district around the town. Towns and districts surrounding Gwanda include Mbalabala
Mbalabala
Mbalabala is a village on the main Beitbridge-Bulawayo road in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. Situated approximately 41 miles south-east of the city of Bulawayo. The name is derived from the Ndebele name for the greater kudu...
, West Nicholson
West Nicholson
West Nicholson or Tshabezi is a village in the province of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. It is located about halfway between Zimbabwe's second largest city, Bulawayo, and the border town to South Africa, Beitbridge, along the main road and rail link to South Africa.According to the 1982 Population...
, Filabusi
Filabusi
Filabusi is a district in Matabeleland South province in Zimbabwe. It is the district capital of Insiza and service centre for the surrounding mining and farming areas.Mining in the Filabusi area is now mainly small scale gold mining...
, Esigodini
Esigodini
Esigodini is a village in Zimbabwe in Matabeleland South province. It is situated 43 km from Bulawayo by road and 47 km by rail on the Bulawayo-Beitbridge line. According to the 1982 Population Census, the village had a population of 1,492. Esigodini is the administrative centre for Umzingwane...
and Matobo
Matobo
Matobo can refer to:*Matobo National Park in Zimbabwe*Matobo District, an administrative division of Zimbabwe*Matobo, a village in Botswana...
.