Despite history Monarch wallows in poverty

05.12.09

Some of these notices are written or inscribed on kiosks or makeshift shelters that have extended been abandoned.

Even on a normal working day, you observe multitudes of people, both old and young, relaxing at the local shebeens or sitting nonchalantly at their homes, which consist of shacks. You also see undernourished children playing and wallowing in the vague waters of the Ntshe and Tati rivers oblivious of the inherent health hazards.

Perhaps as an effort to assuage the palpable perceive of desolation, you also see signs that say 'Destitute Shelter, Tshireletso AIDS awareness Centre and Lephoi Cluster' and perhaps to counter the spirit of hopelessness, you notice church buildings and makeshift places of worship.

The actuality on the margins of the economy by the people of Monarch location is a painful irony considering the historical fait accompli that the township sprung up partly as a result of the 19th Century mineral revolution that swept through Southern Africa. Before 1867 the locals in use accustomed to to mine gold in the area that later came to be known as the Tati Territory, perhaps at the behest of the Mambo of The Mwana-Mutapa Empire. In  1867, Carl Mauch, with the support of the locals 'discovered' diamonds in the Tati Territory. A gold rush ensued.

Source: Mmegi Online