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.