The dormitory town has its roots sustained by a variety of activities that made it sustainable before a number of new developments were engineered for the better of a few individuals.
Chitungwiza had a bigger dream, that by 2018 there will be full operations of industrial, administrative and business domains that were going to sustain the growing population before a culture of incompetence and corruption took charge of the day to day running of the town.
The town used to have an active industrial park that was able to provide jobs for the residents of Chitungwiza at that time. It now has less than five companies operating which include Dairibord, Sothern Granite and Chibuku which cannot swallow the huge number of unemployed youths at the moment.
Financial security for the leaders of tomorrow cannot be accomplished if the youth are not given an advantage to work and earn accordingly for the better. The youth have to be active for economic transformation therefore if the opportunity is lacking, future is lost.
The majority of people survive on vending of used goods that are sold at a lower rate that cannot promote well-being of individuals and households. Most families are living on less than $1 per day and half-starved meals constituting mostly carbohydrates like bread and rice are common in most households.
Non-productive groups of different ages are concentrated on streets, abusing drugs, alcohol and loading commuter omnibuses in a dangerous way that has portrayed a bad picture of their attitudes. Challenged by the harsh economic conditions the youths end up engaging in risk operations in trying to put hand to mouth.
All shopping centre have become popular hot spots for prostitution where the young ladies some between the ages of 12 – 18 years engage into sexual slavery to get food on the table. The unavailability of employment opportunities has led many youths in to these places of leisure, making them prime targets and exposed to the deadly HIV/AIDS which darkens the future.
Chitungwiza just like any other town in Zimbabwe has poor infrastructure especially roads which were constructed by the Rhodesian Government and lacked maintenance over the years.
Chitungwiza has the most corrupt and incompetent municipal that cannot do any better for the community. Perennial sewage streams are permanent features at various corners of the town especially in St Mary’s, Zengeza 1, Unit D and H were a household contain 3 to 5 families.
Lack of recreational facilities has forced children to play in raw sewage thereby increasing their vulnerability to water borne diseases. Health facilities are dysfunctional with St Mary’s constituency Member of Parliament Tarusenga citing that all clinics in Chitungwiza are operating without a licences from the Ministry of Health for the past decade whilst Chitungwiza general hospital has been privatised.
For years Chitungwiza has been dominated by opposition in trying to emancipate itself from these dark ages but an authoritarian at the helm has made life more complicated. The down trodden from the dormitory town have suffered enough from the regime which has dislocated and neglected transformation of the majority as they champion egocentric ideas.
