Perceptions of regional marginalization The under development of Bulawayo has become a burning political issue in the city, with the government’s failure to rescue the city from a slow death being seen as a deliberate form of regional neglect. This is linked to people’s memories of the Gukurahundi massacres in Matabeleland, and the perceived failure to develop this region during the 1980s, when infrastructural advances were being made in other parts of the nation.29 Although the dramatic number of company closures in Bulawayo are undoubtedly being driven predominantly by the same economic forces which are governing the whole country as already outlined in this paper, it is also a fact that central government could have done more over the decades to ensure Bulawayo’s continued growth.30 Water resources are totally inadequate, and the long awaited Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project is only ever heard about in the weeks running up to any election. The looting and mismanagement of the NRZ has helped to undermine Bulawayo, once a hub in the national train transport system.31 The failure to develop and improve the road links from Beitbridge to Bulawayo and onward to Zambia, and the decision instead to develop a double highway from Beitbridge via Masvingo to Harare, and from there on to Zambia and Mozambique, is seen as one more nail in the coffin of Bulawayo industry. Moreover, these are strategic decisions that have been made in the last two years, since the implementation of the GPA. Plans by South Africa and Zimbabwe to open new border posts to the east of Beitbridge, linking Midlands and Masvingo provinces to Limpopo province in South Africa,32 add further credence to the perception that there is a deliberate policy to marginalize and by‐ pass Matabeleland in terms of its import‐export potential, as well as ordinary human traffic in the years ahead. Bulawayo’s isolation is further exacerbated by poor air links in and out of the city. Air Zimbabwe has international routes from Harare to Johannesburg, Dubai, Beijing and London, and currently, does not fly internationally out of Bulawayo at all. One South African Airlink flight to Johannesburg per day represents the only international air connection to Bulawayo, and the price of this flight is among the most extortionate of any $/km routing in southern Africa.33 It is $500 cheaper per round‐ticket, to fly from Johannesburg to Livingstone in Zambia ‐ a greater distance ‐ than it is to fly from Johannesburg to Bulawayo.34 This has ramifications for Bulawayo industry, bearing in mind that the most important trading partner in the SADC region generally, as well as for Zimbabwe, is undoubtedly South Africa. 29 The Standard: “Zimbabwe’s widening ethnic divisions”, 24‐30 April 2011. 30 The decline of Bulawayo began as far back as the 1970s, and the idea of piping water from the Zambezi was first mooted in the 1920s. 31 The collapse of the railways has of course affected the infrastructure and viability of industry countrywide, but has also resulted in hundreds of retrenchments in Bulawayo, where it is head quartered. 32 Media reports, South Africa, June 2011, refer to these planned new border posts although the time line is not clear. At the moment all traffic to and from SA goes through Beitbridge. 33 Return tickets Jhb‐Bulawayo (a 90 min flight) average US$ 750: it can be cheaper to fly Jhb‐London. 34 It costs $240 to fly to Jhb‐Livingston return, on 1time airlines. 17