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Elliot Ziwira-Senior Writer

Mt Darwin community in Mashonaland Central Province is ready to play host as the countdown to the nation’s 43rd Independence Day celebrations continues, with the main arena at the venue 95 percent complete.

The district will host the Children’s Party on April 17 at Pfura Stadium, followed by the Independence Day festivities the following day at the almost complete up-to-the-minute arena at Darwin High School, about 156km north of Harare, where football giants Dynamos and Highlanders are expected to lock horns in the Independence Trophy.

There will be a musical gala afterwards. 

Consumed by the spirit of Independence, the spirit of love, determination, collective unity and gallantry embodied in the Eternal Flame at the National Heroes Acre in Harare, the people of Mt Darwin, and indeed, all the folks of Mashonaland Central, feel honoured to have the Flame kindled in their province.

President Mnangagwa will ignite the Flame at Chibondo shrine on April 18.

Pfura Rural District Council chief executive officer, Stanslous Nyachowe, told The Herald on Tuesday that the anticipated date for completion of the 37-day project, now globally at 72 percent, is April 7. 

“In terms of the main arena, we are 95 percent through. The target for the completion of this 37-day implementation plan is April 7, which, according to the chairperson of the technical committee, Engineer Emson Chitsungo, we are sticking to,” he said.

The story of the liberation struggle cannot be complete without reference to Mashonaland Central, particularly Mt Darwin, which is one of the eight districts in the province. It is a story of selfless struggle spurred on by the desire to ignite an eternal flame that would outlive freedom fighters as mortals.

On a visit to get an appraisal of the progress at the venue, The Herald became a part of the consuming spirit of freedom; an eternal passion for patriotism born of self-sacrifice, and the desire to unshackle a whole people from the clutches of colonialism, expressed through hard work.

 The hive of activity was the council-run high school a few hundred metres from Mt Darwin centre, with the Pfura mountain range about 8 kilometres to the southwest as the crow flies, and Chibondo further west, Murenga Village a stone’s throw to the east, and Chitse Mountain, a war-time sanctuary for freedom fighters in Nyamanja Village, a gaze to the north.

Mr Nyachowe pointed out that although they faced glitches here and there since they were the first rural council to be tasked to host such a significant national event, they took the challenge in stride, and would proudly deliver on it.

He revealed that the hindrance to progress on the main arena has been the distance the 12 000-cubic metre instant lawn is being transported, since it was donated by the City of Harare through the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. With the trucks used being 15-cubic metre ones, instead of the preferable 30-tonne haulage lorries, timely implementation has been challenging.

 The historical venue is on a stretch of land sloping into Mupfure River to the east of the secondary school, decommissioned Chesa Way Dam to the south, and the Ridgeview suburb of Kandeya Township to the north west.

 “Where there is a will, there is a way,” Mr Nyachowe said. “Eng Chitsungo and his technical team have come up with ways to meet the set target.

“As I speak, they are working on the modalities towards that, including introducing a shift system to compensate for lost time owing to equipment breakdown and resource constraints.”

Mr Nyachowe paid tribute to Eng Chitsungo and his team of at least 150 full-time and contract employees for keeping eyes on the ball. 

 A modern pitch, modelled on the National Sports Stadium, complete with a green turf, changing rooms, ablution facilities and a rubberised running track was taking shape, making the locals, and all involved in the project so much proud.

 True to that determination, in either direction taking the eye’s fancy, the relationship between the human soul and machine was being cemented in a cacophony of humming, swishing, whispering and lyrical sounds.

 Personified in the workforce spread-out on the main arena and its fringes, the earthmoving equipment, sprinklers and the enthusiastic locals, who have come to witness history in motion, was the spirit of Independence, which emboldens all to celebrate the legacy of sacrifice, hard work and resilience.

 The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) has also connected a water point to the venue, while a borehole has already been drilled to provide clean water for the more than 40 000 celebrants expected to grace the place, come April 18.

 For those concerned about vagaries of the weather in the absence of sheds and terraces, the Pfura council CEO had more good news.

 “There will be tents and chairs to accommodate all the expected 40 000 people,” said Mr Nyachowe.

 With locals looking forward to the big day, numbers are expected to swell beyond the projected figures, which would lead to the need for overspill accommodation. Even with that possibility, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works has assured that there will be “enough tents to accommodate everyone.”

 Everybody in Mt Darwin, and the province at large, would be a winner; the business community, enterprising locals and sports enthusiasts, are anticipated to reap dividends on the occasion and into the future.

 “We feel greatly honoured by President Mnangagwa, who bestowed the privilege to host the 2023 Independence Day celebrations on Mt Darwin, a rural district and bedrock of the liberation struggle,” Mr Nyachowe said.

 The facility, which will be maintained by the local authority, will go a long way in changing the terrain of the province in terms of sports tourism and recreational opportunities as it is close to a water body and catches the eye in either direction.

 Mr Nyachowe thanked sister local authorities in the province, namely Rushinga, Bindura, Muzarabani, Mvurwi, and Mazowe, as well as the Rural Infrastructure Development (RIDA) and the Department of Roads under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, for providing equipment and manpower.

 Other partners working on the project are independent contractors, Ministry of Youth, Sports and Recreation, NetOne, TelOne, and ZESA. 

 Mt Darwin District development co-ordinator, Mr White Nkoma, said they were ecstatic to have been afforded a chance to shine.

 “When we received word that we would be hosting the 43rd Independence Day celebrations, we were initially taken aback, but we took it with pride, realising that the President is all for inclusivity,” he said.

 He highlighted that Mt Darwin, home to Chibondo, a symbol of the brutality of Ian Smith’s colonial regime, is one of the eight districts in Mashonaland East Province that greatly contributed to the liberation struggle.

 “It reminds us of Chibondo—it reminds us of the struggle. It is in Mashonaland Central, at Altena Farm in Centenary that the guns of war reverberated for freedom in 1972,” Mr Nkoma reflected.

 He praised Eng Chitsungo, who is also the district’s resident engineer, for making their dream a reality by designing the project and overseeing its execution.

 “This is our time to shine; development has come to Mt Darwin. We are looking forward to building terraces with the assistance of miners and other stakeholders. We have got a springboard. It is not business as usual anymore as our gross domestic product as a district is set to rise,” Mr Nkoma said. 

 Eng Chitsungo said he was thrilled that his dream was coming to fruition regardless of the setbacks encountered on the implementation of the project, which is on two sites, adding that the target was within range.

 “We definitely have to finish by the 7th of April. But, equipment breakdowns have been a let-down. Some of the equipment that is breaking down has to be outsourced as it is not readily available on the market, which means there is a challenge in terms of execution,” he said.

 Stumbling blocks notwithstanding, the project engineer and his team of locals, spurred on by the President’s “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo” refrain, are optimistic of handing over the project to the State Occasions Committee on the deadline enshrined in the 37-day implementation plan.