Banket (originally known as Banket Junction) is a town in the province of
Mashonaland West
Mashonaland West is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 57,441 km² and a population of approximately 1.9 million (2022). Chinhoyi is the capital of the province.
Demographics
Geography
Districts
Mashonaland West is divid ...
, Zimbabwe. It is located about 95 km north-west of
Harare
Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...
on the main Harare-
Chinhoyi
Chinhoyi, previously known as Sinoia during the colonial era, is a city in central northern Zimbabwe in the Makonde District. It has a population of 90,800 and is primarily a college town, although it was originally founded as an Italian group ...
road. According to the 1982 Population Census, the town had a population of 5,698. The name of the town is derived from ''banket'' rock formation: early settlers saw a
conglomerate, which they hoped would bear gold, like the ''banket'' of the
Witwatersrand gold fields.
[Stagman, J.G. 1961. The Geology of the Country around Sinoia and Banket, Lomagundi District. '' Southern Rhodesia Geological Survey Bulletin'' 49.]
ASIN: B0017ZS932
The conglomerate was not gold-bearing, although gold was late discovered and, along with
chromite
Chromite is a crystalline mineral composed primarily of iron(II) oxide and chromium(III) oxide compounds. It can be represented by the chemical formula of Iron, FeChromium, Cr2Oxygen, O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. The ...
, is still mined in the area. Cattle, maize, cotton and tobacco are commercially farmed in the area.
Banket grew as a service centre for the surrounding mines and commercial farms, and has suffered from the downscaling of chromite mining in Zimbabwe. The town further suffered from the expropriation of white-owned commercial farms in the controversial land reform programme that began in 2000. The town's main source of income and business clientele, the farmers and businesspeople, all but disappeared from the scene, leading to a loss of business and income. The settlers who took over the farms failed to fill the gap created by the demise of commercial farms. This led to the collapse of retail businesses and the few industries that were in the town.
The town has three primary schools (Kuwadzana, St Georges and Banket Primary) and two secondary schools (Kuwadzana High School and the Catholic-church-owned Sacred Heart Secondary School). It has a district hospital and a council clinic. The town grew primarily because of its role as a service centre for surrounding commercial farms and mining settlements.
Mazvikadei Dam is also located north of Banket.
Government and politics
Before the 1992 amalgamation of the rural councils, which managed mainly commercial farm land, and district councils, which managed mainly
land held under traditional tenure, Banket-
Trelawney Rural Council (BTRC) ran the small town. Services were good and infrastructure was solid . But there was a discrepancy in the level and quality of services between the white commercial farms and mainly white low density suburbs and the black high-density, low-income residential township of Kuwadzana. The amalgamation resulted in the creation of the Zvimba Rural District Council (ZRDC), with the head office being located at
Murombedzi growth point. Crispen Kadhoza (
ZANU-PF) served as councillor for Banket in ZRDC until losing ZANU-PF primary elections in 2008, and could therefore not represent the party in the electoral contest of 29 March, which was won by the
MDC's Fanuel Tembo and Emmanuel Chinanzvavana who became the councillors for the two wards.
In 2008 Banket gained international fame following a series of politically motivated abductions of supporters of the opposition party. These included the councillors Fanuel Tembo, Emmanuel Chinanzvavana, his wife Concillia Chinanzvavana and an infant who was abducted with the mother. The abductees were later found in police custody after weeks of police denying knowledge of their whereabouts.
In 2007 the local government minister announced plans to turn the administration of Banket over to a town management board, which would put Banket in the same class as such urban centres as
Ruwa
Ruwa is a town in Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe, situated 23 km south-east of the capital Harare
Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a populatio ...
,
Chirundu and
Hwange
Hwange, originally known as Wankie, is a town in Zimbabwe, located in Hwange District, in Matabeleland North Province, in northwestern Zimbabwe, close to the international borders with Botswana and Zambia. It lies approximately , by road, sou ...
.
Sport
Banket used to boast a soccer team known as Banket United, or simply B.U. and more recently Dzinza. The team reached as high as Soccer Division One but never made it to the Premier Soccer League.
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Mashonaland West Province