Banket, Zimbabwe

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Banket
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settlement_type = Town
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Zimbabwe
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Mashonaland West
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population_as_of = 1982
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population_total = 5,698
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timezone = CET
utc_offset = +1
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latd=17 |latm=23 |lats= |latNS=S
longd=30 |longm=24 |longs= |longEW=E
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elevation_m = 1274
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Banket (originally known as Banket Junction) is a town in the province of Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe. It is located about 95 km north-west of Harare on the main Harare-Chinhoyi road. According to the 1982 Population Census, the town had a population of 5,698. Its name is derived from the "banket" rock formation in the area. Gold, copper and chromite is mined in the area. Cattle, maize, cotton and tobacco are commercially farmed in the area. There is a coffee processing plant in Banket and the entire provinces' coffee is processed here.

The town has three primary schools (Kuwadzana, St Georges and Banket Primary) and two secondary schools (Kuwadzana and Tsungai). It has a good district hospital and a council clinic. The town grew primarily because of its role as a service centre for surrounding commercial farms and mining settlements. Before the forced and controversial amalgamation of the prosperous and well managed rural councils and the less well to do district councils in 1992, Banket-Trelawney Rural Council (BTRC) ran the small town. Services were good and infrastructure was solid. But there was a clear discrepancy in the level and quality of services between the white commercial farms and mainly white low density suburbs and the sprawling black high-density, low-income residential township of Kuwadzana. The status of affairs has since changed as about 99% of the low density suburbs are now black owned. Banket used to boast of a soccer team known as Banket United or simply B.U. The team got into Soccer Division One but never saw the day in the Premier Soccer League.

Amalgamation resulted in the creation of the Zvimba Rural District Council (ZRDC), with the head office being located at Murombedzi growth point, a decision that surprised many since geographically and economically, Murombedzi has nothing that could explain why it became te district capital of ZRDC. This was a purely political decision since Murombedzi is the President Robert Mugabe's home area. The move drastically lowered the level and quality of services and infrastructure, without redressing the inequalities. The town further suffered from the expropriation of white-owned commercial farms in the controversial and reform programme that began in 2000. Its main source of income and business clientele, the farmers and businesspeople, all but disappeared from the scene, leading to a loss of business and income. The settlers who took over the farms failed to fill the gap created by the demise of commercial farms. This led to the collapse of retail businesses and the few industries that were in the town. The town's long serving councillor, who has very little formal education and is a protégé of the local government minister, is blamed for stalling the development of the Banket. In 2007 the local government minister announced plans to turn Banket into a proper urban centre run by a town management board, which would put Banket in the same class as such urban centres as Ruwa, Chirundu and Hwange.

References