Lucia Mkandla wins as Kwekwe turns ninety million into power

Ninety million dollars later, Kwekwe is done talking potential and is visibly turning cash into concrete, clinics, and future power plans.

Why is this turning heads

• Kwekwe City Council just clocked over US$90 million in fresh investment across three years.
• The money trail runs from 2022 through 2025 and covers way more than one flashy project.
• Urban renewal is not theoretical anymore; it is showing up block by block.

Who dropped the numbers

• Lucia Mkandla laid out the figures.
• She framed the investments as proof that the city is pulling weight nationally.
• The timeline lines up neatly with the Vision 2030 push.

Where the money went

• Funding landed across industry, commerce, social amenities, and property development.
• One standout is the Kwekwe Specialist Hospital, which brings advanced medical services closer to home.
• The mix suggests planning, not random deal chasing.

How does this fit the national plan

• Mkandla tied the growth path to the National Development Strategy 2.
• The strategy sits under the Second Republic agenda and feeds directly into Vision 2030.
• The city is positioning itself as an active player, not a passenger.

Recognition at the top

• Mkandla picked up the 2024 to 2025 Presidential Award for local authority performance.
• The award doubled as public validation of the city’s momentum.
• It also boosted Kwekwe’s credibility with investors watching from the sidelines.

Investor magnet status

• The council is branding Kwekwe as a go-to investment zone in the Midlands Province.
• Active projects and new interests are stacking up at the same time.
• The City of Gold's nickname is getting a fresh meaning.

What it looks like on the ground

• Renewal stretches from the bus terminus through the CBD and into nearby suburbs.
• New commercial and service buildings keep popping up.
• The change is hard to miss if you move around town.

Pandemic setback, fast rebound

• COVID-19 slowed things down, no sugarcoating that.
• Once restrictions eased, the council leaned hard into the groundwork already done.
• The focus flipped straight back to future-facing investment.

Mayor talking next moves

• Albert Zinhanga says bigger projects are loading.
• A partnership with Geo Pomona Waste Management is on the table.
• The goal is tighter control over the city’s two dumpsites.

Why waste matters here

• City leaders toured the Pomona Dumpsite in Harare and liked what they saw.
• The decision to partner was locked in after that visit.
• Solid waste management is being treated as infrastructure, not a cleanup duty.

Looking past trash to power

• With Geo Pomona involved, the city is eyeing electricity generation.
• Green energy is being pitched as the long-term win.
• Officials sound unusually confident that this is more than a concept.