Epworth is a
dormitory town
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
in south-eastern
Harare Province
Harare Metropolitan Province () is a province in northeastern Zimbabwe. It comprises Harare, the country's capital and most populous city, and two other municipalities . Originally part of Mashonaland Province, in 1983 the province was divided in ...
, Zimbabwe. Its population exploded in the late 1970s and 1980s as an
informal settlement
Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the inform ...
.
Background
Epworth is located about twelve kilometres from the
Harare
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
city centre. It is a high-density
dormitory town
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
administered by the Epworth Local Board. It is bisected by a stream into two parts. The Balancing Rocks found in the northern approaches of the town are famous, and are featured on all bank notes issued by the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is the central bank of Zimbabwe and is headquartered in the capital city Harare.
History
The bank traces its history to the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia, founded on 22 May 1964, but which succeeded the Bank of Rhodesia ...
.
History
Epworth Mission was established by the Rev. Shimmin as a Methodist Mission Station more than a century ago, in 1890. Epworth then and to this day is divided into 7 wards.
A large influx of people occurred during the late 1970s and early 1980s with the population being 20,000 in 1980 and 35,000 in 1987. The
Methodist Church
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
could not control the influx of people, and therefore transferred ownership of the farm to the Ministry of Local Government in 1983. By 2002 the population was 113,884. Epworth had not been planned as an urban residential area, and therefore this rapid increase in population was occurring on land without any water supply or sanitation facilities. Epworth became the only informal settlement to have been tolerated by the
Zimbabwean Government in the post-independence period because of the long history of settlement and because of its size.
The government decided to upgrade rather than demolish the
informal settlement
Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the inform ...
. Since most residents of Epworth had
squatted
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
in the area spontaneously,
public utilities
A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
such as water, sewage and electricity were lacking before government intervention. A
Local Board
Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...
formed in 1986 under the Urban Councils Act, and whose members are elected by the community, is responsible for managing the area including the collection of rates and other levies.
Epworth was initially developed into four sub-areas but as the population increased it expanded to nine sub-areas that had extensive squatter settlements. Health services are provided by two
clinics
A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...
in the area. Also, in Epworth there is a large rock that the people call "Domboramwari", which means rock of
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
.
Development status
For the past 5 years all the well structured areas (Stopover, Domboramwari, Overspill, Glenwood and Chiremba now has electricity, a big improvement in the suburb, making it one of the most developing areas in Harare. There has been development , with a new suburb near Delport called Glenwood, which is well structured with morden houses making it one of the best developed, high density areas in Harare. However most unstructured and unregulated illegal structures in Dhonoro, Magada and the down part of Overspill are pulling the suburb backwards as there is no hope for development. Epworth is very clean and they have a unique way of managing their waste and the absence of a sewer system makes the community safe from diseases considering how unsustainable the sewer system has been in Harare. The majority of residents get by as
street vendor
A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with costermonger or peddler. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells inexpensive goods, handicrafts, or food items. Whether stationa ...
s and informal manufacturers.
There are no street names but most of the plots are numbered. The community is divided into suburbs that are demarcated by dust roads. Major suburbs include Chiremba, Stopover, Chinamano, Dam, Zinyengere, Pentagon, Magada, Overspill, Maulana, Dhonoro, Munyuki, and Danastein. It is a poor suburb. There are five secondary schools, namely Epworth High School, Domboramwari High School, Adelide secondary, Mabvazuva Secondary and Muguta Secondary School which was commissioned in 2007.
Since most of the houses found in the town are built from unburnt bricks, the houses are prone to falling during heavy rains. Due to the harsh economic times that the country has been passing through for the past decade, crime has been on the increase in the overcrowded suburb.
"Epworth Turns Back on Its Christian Roots"
at allafrica.com (accessed 2 November 2008)
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Harare Province
Squatting in Zimbabwe