President Robert Mugabe's View on Bulawayo

We salute Bulawayo for the key role it has played as central point of our nationalist activities for the liberation of Zimbabwe from settler colonialism and imperialism.

We also salute the vital role Bulawayo has played in the economic development of the country’s western provinces in its capacity as the industrial and commercial hub of this region. We further salute the very important role Bulawayo has always played nationally as an industrial and cultural city, as the headquarters of the national railways system of the country and as the recipient of thousands of our tourist from the south.

In modern times, Bulawayo has distinguished itself, not only for wide streets and green parks, but also as the home of the National Free Library, Animal Museum, the Trade Fair grounds and the National University of Science and Technology.

Quite recently, Bulawayo has been nominated as one of the few cities in Africa to participate in a global forum of cities and sustainable development from 24th June to 3rd of July 1994. This represents the high regard in which the international community holds the city of Bulawayo and its contribution towards socio-economic development.

We note that Bulawayo has developed and grown over the past 100 years against a number of odds and one such persistant has been the shortage of water. The period 1991/92 posed a real threat to the sustainability of Bulawayo as the cultural, industrial, commercial and service centre for the whole Matebeleland, due to the devastating drought encompassing the whole country.

We salute the people of Bulawayo for the indomitable will to survive and prosper demonstrated especially during the 1992 drought. Emergency boreholes within the city, water rationing by the city fathers and a variety of other measures combined with the efforts from central the government and the donor community in saving the day for this great city.