Banket, Zimbabwe

Banket
Small village
Banket
Coordinates: 17°23′S 30°24′E / 17.383°S 30.400°E / -17.383; 30.400
Country	Zimbabwe
Province	Mashonaland West
District	Zvimba District
Elevation	1,274 m (4,180 ft)
Population  (1982)
• Total	5,698
	estimated
Time zone	UTC+2 (CAT)

Banket (originally known as Banket Junction) is a town in the province of Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe. It is located about 95 km north-west of Harare on the main Harare-Chinhoyi road. According to the 1982 Population Census, the town had a population of 5,698. The name of the town is derived from banket rock formation: early settlers saw a conglomerate, which they hoped would bear gold, like the banket of the Witwatersrand gold fields.^[1] The conglomerate was not gold-bearing, although gold was late discovered and, along with chromite, is still mined in the area. Cattle, maize, cotton and tobacco are commercially farmed in the area.

Banket grew as a service centre for the surrounding mines and commercial farms, and has suffered from the downscaling of chromite mining in Zimbabwe. The town further suffered from the expropriation of white-owned commercial farms in the controversial land reform programme that began in 2000. The town's main source of income and business clientele, the farmers and businesspeople, all but disappeared from the scene, leading to a loss of business and income. The settlers who took over the farms failed to fill the gap created by the demise of commercial farms. This led to the collapse of retail businesses and the few industries that were in the town.

The town has three primary schools (Kuwadzana, St Georges and Banket Primary) and two secondary schools (Kuwadzana High School and the Catholic-church-owned Sacred Heart Secondary School). It has a district hospital and a council clinic. The town grew primarily because of its role as a service centre for surrounding commercial farms and mining settlements. Mazvikadei Dam is also located north of Banket.