A district in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

Masvingo Province Masvingo is a province in southeastern Zimbabwe. It has a population of 1.485 million as of the 2012 census, ranking fifth out of Zimbabwe's ten provinces. Established as Victoria Province by the British South Africa Company, it was one of the ...

Chiredzi found in the district, is one of a number of centers for

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

treatment in the province. The district's Hippo Valley Hospital is one of a number of centers for

treatment in the province. The district is famous for hosting

Hippo Valley Estate Hippo Valley Estate () is a sugar estate found near the town of Chiredzi in Chiredzi District of southeastern Zimbabwe, on the Runde River near the border with Mozambique. Background It was established in 1956 as a citrus estate and soon it ...

and the nearby Mkwasine Estate, both of which specialize in sugar cane and citrus fruit production.

Geography

A large chunk of the district is found in region V, although there are some parts that lie in region IV. Areas in region five are characterized by aridity and uncertain rainfall patterns. Many parts of the district are unfit for agriculture, hence in 1972 they set aside to form

Gonarezhou National Park Gonarezhou National Park is a national park located in southeastern Zimbabwe. It is situated in a relatively remote corner of Masvingo Province, south of Chimanimani along the Mozambique border. Owing to its vast size, rugged terrain and its loc ...

. In terms of surface area, Chiredzi is one of the largest districts in the country with over 95% of its area taken up by Gonarenzou and other conservancies like Malilangwe. With the arid climate, most people grow

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

, a crop which is drought-tolerant and requires minimal rain to grow to maturity. The red soil found in the district is also suitable for sugarcane, and prior to the land invasions of 2000, the district was a center for sugar production for the whole country.

Population

The district is sparsely populated. The

Shangaan Soshangana KaZikode (), born Soshangana Nxumalo, was the Founder and the Monarch of the Gaza Empire, which at the height of its power stretched from the Limpopo river in southern Mozambique up to the Zambezi river in the north. Soshangana rule ...

/Tsonga people are in the majority, and the predominant language is Shangaan, a dialect that is related to both Zulu and

Ndebele Ndebele may refer to: *Southern Ndebele people, located in South Africa *Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe and Botswana Languages * Southern Ndebele language, the language of the South Ndebele *Northern Ndebele language Northern ...

Government and politics

For the general elections of 2008, Chiredzi District has been divided into four sectors. Candidates from the MDC-T, MDC-M, ZANU-PF and independents would have competed for the four constituency seats available, and the winners would have represented the district in Zimbabwe's new

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

. For the Chiredzi East Sector, Mafamu Dennis (PAFA), Sithole Abraham ( Zanu-PF), Chingombe Samson (MDC Mtambara), Chiromo Walter (

MDC Tsvangirai MDC may refer to: Arts *Macau Design Centre, an art center in Macau *MDC (band) (Millions of Dead Cops), an American rock band *'' M.D.C. - Maschera di cera'', a 1997 Italian horror film * Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the protagonist of Miraculous: Ta ...

) were registered to contest the seat, while Tafamba Olivia (PAFA), Ndava Ronald ( Zanu-PF), and Mutambu John (

) would have contested Chiredzi North. Baloyi Alois (Zanu-PF), Zanamwe Nehemiah (MDC), Chirove Joseph (MDC Tsvangirai) vied for Chiredzi South, while Musareva Ernest (PAFA), Samson Aliginia ( Zanu-PF), Mungwadzi Godfrey (Independent), Mashiri Robson (

MDC Mutambara MDC may refer to: Arts *Macau Design Centre, an art center in Macau *MDC (band) (Millions of Dead Cops), an American rock band *'' M.D.C. - Maschera di cera'', a 1997 Italian horror film *Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the protagonist of Miraculous: Tal ...

), and nickrd) would have fought it out for Chiredzi West.

References

Districts of Masvingo Province {{Zimbabwe-geo-stub

Geography

Population

Government and politics

See also

References