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Guta raMambo | |
|---|---|
City | |
 | |
| Motto(s): Ruramisiro kune vese (Rwizi) Justice for all | |
| Country | File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG Rwizikuru |
| District | Gutaguru |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Rungano Sithole |
| Population (2011) | |
| • City | 204,985 |
| • Rank | 22nd in Rwizikuru |
| • Urban | 204,985 |
| • Metro | 294,667 |
| Time zone | UTC+3:45 (Rwizikuran Standard Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3:45 (not observed) |
Guta raMambo is the official capital city of Rwizikuru, having been declared capital in 1978 to replace Port Fitzhubert as the capital city of the country, and also is the seat of the district of Gutaguru. Located on the western bank of the Rwizikuru River, Guta raMambo was developed as a planned capital in the 1970s due to a combination of fear of another invasion in the aftermath of the Mabifian-Rwizikuran War and the Garamburan War of Independence, and a desire to improve control over the peripherial regions of Rwizikuru.
Etymology
The name Guta raMambo derives from the Rwizi phrase meaning city of the King. This was a name that was used for present-day Munzwa during the Rwizi Empire which existed from the twelfth century to the middle of the seventeenth century, and renamed a nickname until its abolition.
Prior to 1973, it was home to a village called Dryden, with the name coming from Jonas Dryden, a colonial administrator who oversaw part of the construction of the Rusere-Port Fitzhubert railway.
History
Pre-1973
The site of present-day Guta raMambo had been inhabited for as long as humans have existed along the banks of the Rwizikuru River. However, the area was used mostly for agriculture, with the remaining areas being natural forests.
Although the site of present-day Guta raMambo was home to several villages over the course of its history, the town only started to develop into a town in the early 20th century, when the Rusere-Port Fitzhubert railway established a water stop on the site of Guta raMambo. The stop was named after Jonas Dryden, who was a colonial administrator who oversaw part of the construction of the Rusere-Port Fitzhubert railway.
By 1911, Dryden was listed on the census as a hamlet, comprising of five Eucleans, and eleven Bahians. Over the next few decades, the population grew, with Dryden being incorporated as a village in 1939. By 1941, Dryden had a population of 315 people, where the population largely stayed as is over the next two decades.
Despite Dryden's unimportance, the government of Rwizikuru as early as 1952 eyed the site to be home of a new capital city to replace Port Fitzhubert, due to its central location which would bring "unity" to all people from Yekumavirira to East Riziland. However, these schemes to relocate the capital generally went nowhere during the 1950s and 1960s due to cost concerns and most proposals focused on moving the capital to Munzwa instead.
In 1962, Vudzijena Nhema began making plans for a mini-Mukoma (present-day Amankose) to serve as the capital of Rwizikuru, with Nhema selecting Dryden as "the most suitable site" for the project. However, any plans to relocate the capital were put on hold following the 1963 and 1964 coups d'etat as the National Salvation Council sought to present a more pro-Euclean image.
Construction
Following the end of the Mabifian-Rwizikuran War, and the Garamburan War of Independence in 1969, Mambo Izibongo Ngonidzashe realized that with the advance on the Mugwagwa which connected the cities of what had been Port Vaugeois (present-day Port Tsalar, Mabifian), Port Graham, and Port Fitzhubert, Port Fitzhubert would be vulnerable to a future Mabifian invasion of Rwizikuru in the event that the Mabifians broke the Treaty of Snarksburgh.
At the same time, Izibongo Ngonidzashe realised that a more central location for the Rwizikuran capital would help improve control over the peripherial regions, particularly over the Northern Territory, but to a lesser extent also Randaland and North Balisaland compared to Port Fitzhubert, which was situated on a coastal estuary.
Over the next four years, government officials scouted potential sites, with most of these sites being in the Midlands Province, as the area was centrally located. Among the options were Crogan and Munzwa, but by 1971, it became clear that the capital should be completely built from scratch as designating an existing urban centre would "cause the rest of the country to be neglected."
On 2 December, 1973, Izibongo Ngonidzashe planted a cross to declare the site of Dryden to be home to the new capital city, on the basis of easy transport links by both the Rusere-Port Fitzhubert railway and the Rwizikuru River, while still being able to defend itself from a Mabifian invasion. He also proclaimed the name of the town to be Guta raMambo, or city of the king.
In 1974, Jim Chimusasa was asked by Izibongo Ngonidzashe to design the city. Chimamusa would design a city that was "low to the ground" akin to traditional Rwizi buildings, and not monumental unlike planned capital cities such as New Mina (present-day Amankose). In accordance with Izibongo Ngonidzashe's conservative views, the existing settlement of Dryden was "integrated into the urban fabric," while newer areas were to be designed "more like traditional Rwizi villages." In 1975, Chimusasa's design was approved by the King, and construction began the same year.
By 1977, the first government officials began to relocate to Guta raMambo from Port Fitzhubert, and the following year, the royal family moved to the Ashcombe Palace on the outskirts of Guta raMambo. With the relocation of the royal family to Guta raMambo, the district of Gutaguru was carved out of the Midlands Province, partially so that the area can governed directly, and partially to avoid "favouring the Midlands over all the other provinces" in the country.
In 1981, Guta raMambo's population had risen to 14,509 people. At that point in time, most ministries, including the Ministry of Defence were still based in Port Fitzhubert, which made the city the site of the attempted coup d'etat against the Rwizikuran government that year. In its aftermath, the government accelerated efforts to relocate most government offices to Guta raMambo, and by the end of the decade, most high-ranking officials had relocated to Guta raMambo from Port Fitzhubert.
Contemporary era
As Guta raMambo was never meant to be the main economic center, but rather the main political center of the country, Guta raMambo has not attracted a lot of people since its completion in the early 1980s.
Successive mukurus and mayors have made policies that have hindered the city's growth, especially prohibiting skyscrapers and forcing urban sprawl to take effect, in an attempt to preserve the city's rural character. At the same time, due to the fact that the government is the primary employer, and the government is on the small side, by virtue of it being an absolute monarchy, there are not as many jobs in Guta raMambo, as opposed to what it could be if it were established under the Rwizikuran republic.
With the accession of Munashe Ngonidzashe in 2019, and the subsequent passage of a new constitution, Guta raMambo was to remain the capital of Rwizikuru: thus, while for the time being, the National Assembly meets in the old capital city of Port Fitzhubert, the plan is to have all government offices be based in Guta raMambo by 2025, including the National Assembly. Plans by the current mukuru of Gutaguru, Tavonga Ngonidzashe, and mayor Rungano Sithole is for the new government district to be based off the similar principles that underlie the initial plans for Guta raMambo.
Geography
Guta raMambo is located on the western bank of the Rwizikuru River, and bisected by the Chitsvene Rover, which flows from the Plateau to the Rwizikuru River in an west to east direction.
It is somewhat low lying, with the average elevation of Guta raMambo being at fourty meters (131 feet) above sea level. It is somewhat hilly as well, with the highest point being Cheushe Hill, situated at 172 meters (564 feet) above sea level.
Climate-wise, Guta raMambo is in a tropical monsoon climate, with average highs of 33.1 °C (91.6 °F), average lows of 21.6 °C (70.9 °F), and 2,783.3 milimeters of rain per year, with most of the rain falling between April and October, as well as having high humidity.
Government
Like any city in Rwizikuru, it has an elected Mayor (Rwizi: meya) and an elected city council (kanzuru yeguta).
The city council comprises of five members, each representing one of the city's five wards, and are elected every four years by all inhabitants of Guta raMambo over the age of 21, as stipulated in the Civic Decree of 1965 issued by Izibongo Ngonidzashe. The mayor is also elected in the same elections that elect the rest of the city council.
The current mayor is Rungano Sithole, who was elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2018.
Demographics
As of the 2021 census, Guta raMambo has a population of 204,985 people within its borders, while its metropolitan area comprises of 294,667 people, mostly comprising small villages near Guta raMambo.
Of the 204,985 people living in Guta raMambo, 143,490 people, or around 70% percent of the population are Rwizi, followed by the Balisa at 30,748 people, or around 15% of the population, the Randa at 16,399 people, or around 8% of the population, and other ethnic groups at 14,348 people, or around 7% of the population, mostly Makomo and Mirite, with a tiny varungu presence in Guta raMambo.
In terms of religion, 164,603 people, or around 80.3% of the population are Sotirian. Of the Sotirians, 68,465 people, or around 33.4% of the population are members of the United Amended Church, 61,496 people, or around 30% of the population, are members of the Reformed and Amended Church of Sotirias, 29,108 people, or around 14.2% of the population, are Catholics, and the remaining 5,534 people, or around 2.7% of the population, follow other sects.
The next largest religion is Badi, followed by 33,823 people, or around 16.5% of the population, followed by Irfan, followed by 4,305 people, or around 2.1% of the population. Of the remaining 1.1% of the population, around 0.9% of the population follow traditional Bahian religions, with the remainder following other religions, with only trace amounts of irreligious people living in the capital city.
Transportation
Guta raMambo was selected to be the capital of Rwizikuru on account of its position on both the Rwizikuru River and the Rusere-Port Fitzhubert railway: to this day, there are daily services going to both Port Fitzhubert and Rusere by railway, as well as water taxi service to communities along the Rwizikuru River that also transports goods in and out of the city.
It is connected by air via the Guta raMambo Airport, with daily flights to the Zophar Bohannon International Airport near Port Fitzhubert, as well as regular cargo flights from Euclea. The Guta raMambo Airport is also the base for the royal private jets, which are frequently used by the House of Ngonidzashe to fly to and from Euclean countries, such as Estmere, or for diplomatic purposes, such as flights to COMSED member states.
While Guta raMambo is connected by road to Port Fitzhubert, Rusere, and Munzwa, these roads were historically not as well-maintained as the Mugwagwa connecting Port Fitzhubert with Port Graham. However, since 2015, a project has been made to build a second motorway from Port Fitzhubert to the border with Yemet, going through Guta raMambo.