Karoi
Karoi is a town in Mashonaland West Province.
Karoi is located approximately 200km northwest from Harare along the main Harare-Chirundu road in Karoi District, Mashonaland West Province in central northern Zimbabwe.
It is lies approximately 85 kilometres , by road, northwest of Chinhoyi, the nearest large town, and the location of the provincial headquarters.
Background:
The name Karoi means “little witch”. In 1945 Karoi became the designated area for mainly caucasian war veterans who obtained government assistance to embark on farming. They engaged mainly in tobacco farming. Tobacco is still the main cash crop in Karoi District.
Overview:
In addition to the offices of Karoi Town Council, the town is also the location of the headquarters of Karoi District Administration. The surrounding countryside is farmland, where tobacco is the primary cash crop. In 2011, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) permitted Mashonaland Tobacco Company (MTC) to open auction floors and buy tobacco in the town, but controversy arose in 2012 about purchases from uncontracted farmers.
There are two hotels in the town: Karoi Hotel in the center of town and Twin River Inn, about 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi), north of town, on the road to Kariba, approximately 135 kilometres (84 mi), northwest of Karoi. The main secondary schools in Karoi are Karoi High School and Chikangwe High School. The farming village of Tengwe lies about 30 kilometres (19 mi), southwest of Karoi. Royal Bank Zimbabwe, a commercial bank, maintains a branch in Karoi.
