BULAWAYO – Zanu PF has passed a resolution to rid the country’s provinces of names given by its erstwhile white rulers before independence, arguing they were inherently divisive.
Zimbabwe, for administrative and identification purposes, is subdivided into 10 geographical provinces which are Harare, Bulawayo, Midlands, Masvingo, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South.
Except for Harare, Bulawayo, Midlands and Masvingo, the other provinces are named according to ethnic groups predominantly domiciled in each one of them.
Zanu PF feels the continued reference to the regions based on the identity of occupant ethnicities was divisive.
The decision to rename the provinces was reached at its annual national people’s conference in Bulawayo last Saturday.
The country’s ruling party expects its conference resolutions to be implemented by different government departments and agencies.
Presenting the conference resolutions, Zanu PF Secretary for Legal Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa said the decision was inspired by the desire to foster national cohesion.
“On liberation war heritage, the party directs government to accelerate renaming of provinces and do away with colonial names, which divide the nation,” Chinamasa said.
Reacting to the party’s resolution, historian, Methembe Hadebe, agreed saying the naming of the provinces according to ethnicity “was part of the colonialists’ divide and rule antics”.
“It was a programme that was meant to make people not see themselves beyond their ethnicity,” he said, adding, “Changing the names of the provinces will create national pride as opposed to having people thinking only of their ethnicity.”
However, a United Kingdom based Zimbabwean – Brian – who preferred to be referred to by his first name only, felt it was not the names of provinces that cause divisions but the attitudes of the government towards the country’s regions that is ruinous.
“This is much ado about nothing, honestly. We have lived with these names for more than 40 years and I did not see anything potentially damaging about them. I stand to be convinced.
“While it is their right to deliberate over trivialities, I still feel Zanu PF could have best spent their precious time finding solutions on how to bring other provinces that lag behind in terms of development at par with the rest.
“For example, Matabeleland South is known as the poorest province in the country.
“I lived in the province for decades confronted by its sorry state of affairs daily. I will not celebrate a sudden change of name when there is still no sign of development there.
“Surely, a resolution on how to scale up development in the province is much more substantive and welcome than a dull discussion on changing ink on administrative letterheads and date stamps,” Brian said.
