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
Halifax River define portions of these cities' borders. The middle of the riverbed at the time the borders were established was the line to define the borders between cities. The cities below have either historic significance or cultural lore connecting them to the Halifax River. They are ordered from the beginning of the river to its end. There are currently six bridges along the river, including two bascule bridges. They are ordered from north to south. The area of the Halifax River was first settled about 7,000 years ago, by Native American tribes who were the ancestors of tribes such as the