Masvingo,the City of the future?

By Sam Mapuranga

There is not much to celebrate in towns and cities in Zimbabwe currently. Most cities and towns are not able to drive structural transformation, boost growth, create jobs in tradeable industries, and contribute to national economic growth compared with those in advanced economies such as America, China, and the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, there is much to build on for the future. Caught on an unlevel playing field, cities find it difficult to offers basic services such as safe drinking water, housing, and reliable transport infrastructure, among others. Therefore, many towns and cities continue to lose families and jobs to rapidly growing new suburban communities and neighbouring countries. As companies and families move out, the tax bases shrink, leaving these places without the financial wherewithal to grapple with concentrated marginal poverty, joblessness, family fragmentation, and failing schools. Masvingo is not spared too, yet the sad fact is that a “business as usual” culture still dominates the city including businesses. Zimbabwean economy has been characterised by several monetary and fiscal challenges, liquidity constraints, deindustrialisation, and high interest rates. The economy has remained fragile due to Covid-19 crisis. The economic shock triggered by the pandemic compounded the city’s revenue mobilization woes. However, with a more stable macro-economic environment this year, no-fixed exchange rate and proper policy planning a new era can be ushered. To make the goal we still have work to do. A cross-sectional view of Masvingo city reveals an unprecedent levels of unfished buildings (structures) especially in the city’s industrial zone. Thus, this points to key important challenges (or opportunities) faced by the city (and the entire province), policymakers and regulators - i.e., shrinking labour market & a ballooning housing provisions list. Furthermore, because per capita GDP is low, public, and private investments in housing, infrastructure, and other capital are lacking. Issues of limited land management and lack of infrastructure contribute to Zimbabwe cities and towns being fragmented, with low levels of accessibility to jobs and social services. Hence no interdependence between the city and its district. Labour Market The job market is itself a cog in yet another financial machine: earning financial stability. What if one could achieve financial stability without having to toil away at an 8am to 5pm in the first place? To avoid much debate, we will leave this debate. Rather, let us explore, entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs - move here to Masvingo. This can be achieved by simplifying the ease of doing business. It will be a competitive advantage moving forward. This could be an easy & an ideal mantra to lure entrepreneurs to the province. Think of it like playing in traffic, it is fun when there are no cars. When you are playing in peak rush hour… it is suicide. The more entrepreneurs who get involved; the more jobs created. Hence, let us support entrepreneurs and attract more to Masvingo. The business environment is an important determinant of firms’ costs, which affect firms’ abilities to compete in domestic, regional, and international markets. What environment are we creating in the province? The pandemic economy has accelerated the much-needed reinvention of the office market, with growing interest for future office buildings and business districts to facilitate human interaction and collaboration. Thus, the post-pandemic city must work for all workers — not just those who can work from home. In this regard, all the districts in the province play a major role in support the government vision at provincial level. Housing Infrastructure There is an urgent need to build more housing in the city. Flooding the housing market with houses would make housing more affordable. This can be achieved through Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements. More so, when we build an entire suburb, factory and creates jobs that did not exist previously, we will be creating employment thus stimulating demand. This will create a chain of economic activities. However, time in the market beats timing the market. The era of development is here. Hands on deck, each person needs to play his/her role. Interestingly, there’s always juicy distractions en route the journey. A hunter-gatherer brain will not be able to solve today’s challenges. The promise and the challenge. Covid-19 crisis has created disproportionate shock therefore the post-pandemic city must address these structural differences to emerge more prosperous and inclusive. This is not charity or social policy — there is market demand to rebuild better and promote density, walkability, reimagined office districts, easier commutes, and new retail and commercial corridors across the entire province. To meet this demand requires creative financing vehicles, new real estate products, land use reforms and multi-sector partnerships. It will take an enormous amount of work to create solutions. The need to encourage civic and government conversation forums remains a major step towards addressing systemic challenges bedevilling the city. This is a different way of thinking about our collective problems and a different way of acting on them. Therein lies the promise and the challenge.Like many other cities and provinces around the country, Masvingo faces a series of stark economic and social challenges coinciding with the COVID-19 crisis. To achieve economic recovery, let us leverage on our high skilled human capital base, proximity to our main trading partner, South Africa, and abundant natural resources in the province such as gold, lithium, and diamonds. Indeed, Masvingo should become the city of the future, however, the future city is not a prediction game — it is a choice. ___________________________________________________________________________ Samuel Mapuranga writes in his own personal capacity. Views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent any organisation. Feedback: Email - smapuranga15@gmail.com; or Twitter: @Sa_miiM