Kadoma, formerly known as Gatooma, is a town 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 ...

Location

The city is located in

Kadoma District Kadoma District is a Districts of Zimbabwe, district in Zimbabwe. Location The district is located in Mashonaland West, Mashonaland West Province, one of the 10 administrative provinces in Zimbabwe. Its chief city, Kadoma, Zimbabwe, Kadoma, with an ...

Mashonaland West Province Mashonaland West is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 57,441 km² and a population of approximately 1.5 million (2012). Chinhoyi is the capital of the province. Districts Mashonaland West is divided into 7 districts: * Chegutu * ...

, one of the 10 administrative provinces in

. This location lies approximately , by road, southwest of

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 ...

, the national capital and largest city in the country. The city lies on Highway A-5, between Harare and

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

, approximately northeast of Bulawayo. Kadoma is situated at an elevation of above sea level.

Overview

The city is at the centre of a mining area, which provides gold, copper and nickel. The most significant mine of the region is the Cam and Motor Mine, which is located in

Eiffel Flats Eiffel Flats is a village in the province of Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe. It is located about 7 km east of Kadoma. History The village began in 1905 as a residential township for the Cam and Motor gold mine, operated by Rio Tinto Group, now R ...

, about , by road, northeast of Kadoma. Cam and Motor is the largest gold producer in Zimbabwe's history. Under the present regime, Cam and Motor is owned by Rio Tinto Zimbabwe. Cotton is grown in the area and there was some development of related industries before 1990. The David Whithead Textile manufacturing company was opened in 1952.

ZB Bank Limited ZB Bank Limited (ZBBL), also known as ZB Bank but commonly referred to as Zimbank, is a commercial bank in Zimbabwe. It is licensed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the central bank and national banking regulator. Location The headquarters and ...

, a

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with cor ...

, maintains a branch in the city. Another commercial bank,

Royal Bank Zimbabwe Royal Bank Zimbabwe, whose complete name is Royal Bank Zimbabwe Limited, commonly referred to as Royal Bank, was a licensed commercial bank in that formerly operated in Zimbabwe. Overview Royal Bank was a privately owned financial institution and ...

, also maintains a branch here. Kadoma is also a peaceful town.

History

The city of Kadoma was known as Gatooma until 1982. Gatooma was founded in the 1890s as a mining camp, and constituted under a village management board in 1907. The settlement was named after the nearby

kraal Kraal (also spelled ''craal'' or ''kraul'') is an Afrikaans and Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African settlement or village surrounded by a fence of th ...

of Chief Katuma, who is represented on the town's coat of arms by the mountain bearing his name and the chief's badge of office. The Specks Hotel was opened in 1907, and Jameson High School started the same year when Amelia Fitt, wife of the first mayor of Kadoma, started to give classes to the town children in her house. In 1917 Gatooma Municipality was created. A public electricity supply was introduced in Kadoma in 1922. The Grand Hotel opened in 1925 and had a

sprung floor A sprung floor is a floor that absorbs shocks, giving it a softer feel. Such floors are considered the best kind for dance and indoor sports and physical education, and can enhance performance and greatly reduce injuries. Modern sprung floors are s ...

for dancing, the first such floor in Zimbabwe.

Population

In 2004, the population of the city was estimated at 79,174. The population of Kadoma was estimated at 77,749 in 2012. In the 1969 census its population totalled 20,940, of whom 1,879 were white and 18,740 were African. In 1975 the population was estimated at 33,000, of whom approximately 2700 were white.R. K. Rasmussen, ''Historical Dictionary of Zimbabwe/Rhodesia'' (London: 1979) page 98

Climate

Sister city

The city of Kadoma is twinned with

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

in the United Kingdom.

References

{{Authority control Kadoma District Populated places in Mashonaland West Province