Nearly 100, 000 people expected as Mnangagwa presides over inaugural Munhumutapa Day 

MASHONALAND Central is bracing for a massive turnout tomorrow, Tuesday 15 September, as President Emmerson Mnangagwa leads Munhumutapa Day celebrations in Mvurwi and launches a 259-hectare housing project for youths.

More than 100,000 people are anticipated, with roads upgraded and the main venue 95 percent ready. 

The President has declared September 15 a public holiday.

Provincial Zanu-PF Chairman Kazembe Kazembe said everything was set. 

“Transport is sorted. Logistics are done. We are ready,” he said.

People from Bindura, Mbire, Guruve, Mount Darwin, Rushinga, Shamva, Mazowe and Muzarabani will be bused in.

The big announcement will be the Munhumutapa Housing Scheme. A total of 2,000 young people in Mashonaland Central will get stands — 59ha in Mvurwi, plus 100ha each in Kimcourt, Centenary and Bindura.

John Paradza of the Zanu-PF Youth League said the project, first piloted in Masvingo, is now in all 10 provinces. 

“This is about empowering young people with land for housing,” he said. 

More than 30,000 youths nationwide are expected in Mvurwi.

Paradza said the housing drive ties into wider programmes in transport, mining and construction aimed at youth.

He said Munhumutapa Day is about more than a day off. 

“It’s about remembering who we are. The Mutapa Empire built Great Zimbabwe. Today we are building a new Zimbabwe under the President’s leadership,” he said.

He thanked President Mnangagwa for declaring the day a holiday following the Youth League’s request.

Mazowe North MP Tsungai Makumbe also called on youths to turn out and “support the President while maintaining discipline.”

Sunday saw the Munhumutapa Half Marathon in Mvurwi. Kazembe said it was about more than running. 

“It’s a statement that we won’t lose our youth to drugs,” he said. The event also included health checks and first aid training.

Organisers say Munhumutapa embodies the spirit of nation-building. The pre-colonial title, meaning “the conqueror,” is being linked to the current drive to develop the country “brick by brick.”