Kwekwe Company (ZISCO), the country's largest steelworks. It also hosts the Zimbabwe Iron and Smelting Company (ZIMASCO), the largest ferrochrome producer, and one of the biggest power generating plants, ZESA-Munyati, in Munyati, a suburb of Kwekwe. Kwekwe is Zimbabwe's richest city in terms of minerals. Kwekwe town was founded in 1898 as a gold mining town, and hosts Zimbabwe's National Mining Museum. The town remains an industrial centre of the country. The name stems from the Zulu word "isikwekwe", which means "scurvy", "mange" or "scab". Popular belief states that Kwekwe is named after the croaking noise made by the nearby river's
Kwekwe-Gokwe Highway about 99% of its present length. Only of the old Gokwe road was tarred from Kwekwe. The former gravel road was paved wide and tarred from 31 January 1986 to 31 March 1991. The original plan was to construct a carriageway with two shoulders. The road is however with 2 shoulders constructed according to the revised plan of 1986. From Kwekwe to Gokwe the road passes over various rivers with standard bridges. The rivers are Kwekwe River, Rhino River, Chimwamombe River, Sesombe River, Mandombe River, Somalala River, Ngazimbi River, Zhombe River, Gwenzi River, Sehozana River, Little Sehozana River, Ufafi River