Columbina Rural Service Center

Coordinates: 18°26′49″S 29°26′38″E / 18.447°S 29.444°E / -18.447; 29.444

Columbina Rural Service Center is a populated place and business center in Zhombe East, in the Midlands Province in Zimbabwe. Columbina Rural Service Center, now popularly known as Empress, though Empress Mine is about 4 km to the South-west, is situated at the 45 km peg along the Gokwe-Kadoma Road. The 45 km east from Columbina is only up to the main Harare-Bulawayo Road, 22 km short from Kadoma. Gokwe is 86 km North-west by road.

Introduction

Columbina Rural Service Center is near the now defunct Empress Nickel Mine which is about 4 km to the South-west, in Kwekwe District. Blue Gum mine is on the Gokwe side of Ngondoma River yet this place was the original Blue Gum according to all maps before 1980. Blue Gum was right at the Samambwa Zhombe East Road turn-off here at Columbina RSC. Search engines always point to this place as Blue Gum, Zimbabwe.

Columbina Rural Service Center is in Mahogo Village, Mabura Ward of the Zibabgwe Rural District Council (Ward 6) in CHIEF SAMAMBWA’s area of jurisdiction. Chief Samambwa reigns in the Zhombe-East part of Zhombe, from Donjane in the south-end to Samambwa in the north-end. The place was formerly under Chief Chiundura until the late 1960s when Mapfumo Samambwa was crowned Headman of the area reporting to Chief Chiundura. Mapfumo was however called and known as the chief of the area because he had all the chief’s jurisdiction, let alone the official part of it. When Chief Mapfumo Samambwa passed on in the late 1960s, his first born son George Ndumo Samambwa reigned but not for long because he also passed on, but under suspicious circumstances. After George his younger brother came in, Peter Samambwa who reigned until his death in 2009. Both George and Peter had their residence in Donjane unlike their father who had his residence at the north-end of their jurisdiction area, at Samambwa Village. Currently Peter Samambwa’s first born is reigning as regent with effect from 23 February 2012. The responsible government minister has not come yet to announce the official chief, and until then Willard Sonny Samambwa is chief. When things change the Government will publish it on this page Traditional leaders in Zimbabwe

People, especially from outside Zhombe mistake Columbina RSC for Empress Mine Township because this is where commuters from different places debus here on their way to Empress Mine Township. Columbina RSC was named after the old Columbina or Colombina Mine which mined gold ore only a short distance from this center in the 1960s.

History

After the closure of Empress Nickel Mine in 1985, Columbina then known as Machipisa Township became the main shopping center for the local people and for travellers to and from Kadoma and Gokwe. The center was known as Machipisa Township because in the days of Empress the national famous Machipisa Brothers ran a very big shop at the here. Other stake holders way back then were Rumwe, Gwanzura, Mashingaidze, Mataruse, Mugadza, Chiwawu, Jabulani, Mundoza, Parehwa, Nakutepa and Majuzi. Only Mugadza, Chiwawu and Majuzi are no longer active at the center.

Service Center Status

For years Columbina ran second fiddle to Sidakeni, which is about 3 km east because it had been the main center in Zhombe East but Columbina has since been upgraded to a Service center because of its strategic lay out and popularity. The Local Government through Zibabgwe Rural district council has approved a site map for huge developments at the center. The place has become the fastest developing center in all Zhombe of late.

Catchment Area

Columbina’s business catchment area stretches as far as Navada, Totororo, Mangwarangwara, Samambwa, Somapani, Kasawi and the near side of Gokwe East. Local children go to Nyaradzo, Bee mine and Sidakeni Secondary Schools which are all at reasonable walking distance from the center. Primary School children also go to Mopane School at Empress Mine, Sidakeni along the Kadoma Road and Bee Mine along the Samambwa-Mabura Road.

Education

Columbina RSC is surrounded by four primary and three secondary schools.

Ward 7 Sidakeni

Sidakeni Primary School and Sidakeni High School.

Coordinates Latitude 18° 26' 51"S | 18.4475 S

Longitude 29° 28' 39"E | 29.4775 E

See also _ Sidakeni Ward (7)

Ward 8 Empress

Mopane and Commoner Primary Schools, and Nyaradzo High School.

Ward 6 Mabura

Bee Mine Primary and Bee Mine Secondary Schools.

Choice subjects

Secondary and High Schools mentioned above offer the following subjects though each school might have not have all but part of them; Geography History Mathematics Physics Technical Drawing Agriculture Bookkeeping Chemistry Computer studies Divinity Economics English grammar and English literature .

RioZim Foundation Zhombe Agricultural College

Rio Tinto College of Agriculture which is at Empress Mine is another institute of higher education the center can boast about. The college was formerly Empress Nickel Mine’s Building Center where prospect brick-layers and builders were taught skills and techniques of their trade. Just before the mine closed the center was given to the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture who turned it into an Agricultural Training Institute before it gained the college status. Rio Tinto Agricultural College is wholly owned by the state and is affiliated to the Midlands State University. It offers a diploma in Agricultural Science and Practice over three years for students of either sex. It has classic boarding hostels for both male and female students. Over the three years students study Horticulture, Agronomy, Farm Engineering, Animal Husbandry and Farm & Agri-business, with practice in all subjects. Most graduates from here are usually employed by the Ministry of Agriculture

See also Zhombe Ward 8 : Topic_ Higher Education

Water Reticulation

There are two hand driven boreholes at the center. The two boreholes can only supply drinking water; water for other uses is fetched at the irrigation supply canal which is about 3 km west of Columbina RSC.

Religion

The Catholics and The Salvation Army goes to Sidakeni for church services. Denominations that have stands at the center are Pentecostals; The Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe former AFM of South Africa, UFIC, Glad Tidings and ZAOGA FIF; Evangelical-main-line churches are Lutheran Church and Methodist Church. There is one Islamic Mosque at this center. There are also a handful of charismatic sects scattered around the center.

Nearby places

Commoner

Commoner Houses is about 500 meters north. Just beyond it is May Jel Mine reclaiming the old dumps of Commoner Mine. Also to the north-west is Bushdale Gold Milling Company both employing quite a number of youths from the surrounding villages.

Empress Mine Township

Empress Mine Township a former Empress Nickel Mine Residential area has turned into a Growth point, and has been ear-marked for Zimbabwe's newest town. Empress Nickel Mine closed in 1985 after 17 years in operation.^[1] Columbina (Colombina) Township has come to be known as Empress because of its proximity to Empress and because Empress Residents preferred shopping at Columbina than in-gates at Empress proper. Empress Mine was established in an area formerly known as Salakuhle (Salagushle), and Commoner School was initially Salakuhle School when it was established.

Sidakeni Business Center is about 3 km east of Columbina RSC. Sidakeni boasts of being the former and historical center of all activities in Zhombe-east. It is the home of COTCO which is a collection depot of the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe, formerly the Cotton Marketing Board. A Rural Health Center, Cattle Sale Pens and a primary and secondary schools are part of Sidakeni's pride in Zhombe

Ngondoma Irrigation Scheme ^[2] is about 4 km to the North-west of Columbina RSC. The irrigation scheme supplies the locals with vegetables and other horticultural products. Ngondoma Irrigation Scheme was established in 1968 by the Government. It is 72 km by road from Kadoma. The initial area of the scheme was 10ha with 12 active farmers, but was extended to 50 ha in the early 1970s. Then in 1979 the area was reduced to 22.5 ha due to water shortages caused by the increasing demand of water at the then Empress Nickel Mine. Nowadays the scheme has over a 100 farmers with quotas ranging between 0.1 and 0.6 ha and the hactarage has since been increased to +44 ha since the closure of Empress Mine. The Scheme is administered by AGRITEX, a Government extension for Agricultural Supervision and technical assistance. An additional 6ha of land has been put under irrigation about 2 km upstream as Ngondoma Irrigation Scheme extension. This came into effect because Empress Nickel Mine closed in 1985 and the water demand reduced reasonably. Water for the scheme comes from Ngondoma Dam^[3] on the Ngondoma river. The dam has an estimated capacity of 7.5 million cubic metres of water. The dam is under the Zimbabwe National Water Authority. Water from the dam is conveyed to the irrigation scheme by a free running carnal propelled by gradient because the irrigation is down-stream. The canal is 4.8 km long and delivers to an overnight storage dam inside the irrigation scheme. Unless Empress Nickel Mine reopens, which is very unlikely, the water supply to the irrigation scheme is adequate in all seasons. Ngondoma Irrigation Scheme is very productive, and it is one of the cheapest schemes to run in Southern Africa because water supply does not need engines to bring it all the way from almost 5 km away.

See also

Zhombe

Sources

• Small-Scale Irrigation —A Foundation for Rural Growth in Zimbabwe—Report of the Zimbabwe Joint Field Workshop— Water Management Synthesis Project—WMS Report 66 page 120—Ngondoma Scheme— ^[4]

• Ngondoma Dam ^[5]

References