Matabeleland area has important gold deposits. Industries include gold and other mineral mines, and engineering. There has been a decline in the industries in this region as water is in short supply. Promises by the government to draw water for the region through the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project have not been carried out. The region is allegedly marginalised by the government. Around the 10th and 11th centuries the Bantu-speaking Bakalanga arrived from the south and settled in Mapungubwe on the Limpopo and Shashi river valleys. Later they moved north to Great Zimbabwe. By the 15th century, the Bakalanga had established a
Matabeleland North Province of employed people in the province working as farmers. Cattle ranching and tourism also contribute to the economy. The Zimbabwean side of Victoria Falls, a World Heritage Site and major tourist attraction, is located in Matabeleland North. The region of Matabeleland, of which Matabeleland North is a part of, is characterized by generally inhospitable land when compared to other parts of Zimbabwe. It has lower rainfall than provinces such as Mashonaland, and is plagued by water scarcity in general. The land is also less fertile than other provinces, as commercial crops cannot be grown and rural farmers usually cannot produce