A sense of amazement has swept through Masvingo after construction firm GTS managed to complete and launch a new service station near the Mucheke River in just five weeks — a rare feat for infrastructure development in the area.
This service station marks the first completed project within the designated site for Masvingo’s upcoming central business district and envisioned smart city.
Although speculation has linked Zanu PF MP for Mberengwa Central, Tinashe Shumba — a known gold dealer — to ownership of the station, he has denied any such ties, telling The Masvingo Mirror that his role is limited to that of a contractor on the site.
However, curiosity has been piqued by the station’s name — GTS — which closely aligns with Shumba’s initials and his widely recognized nickname, “Goga,” suggesting a link: Goga Tinashe Shumba. Further complicating his denial, a Chronicle report explicitly names Shumba as the proprietor of GTS service stations.
The newly built station, located in the Mucheke River valley within the future CBD, initially faced a halt in operations. The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) intervened and ordered a temporary stop to construction due to non-compliance with environmental approval procedures. However, after the issue was resolved in March, the project was cleared to proceed. By May 12, 2025, the station was officially up and running.
EMA’s provincial spokesperson, Munyaradzi Mtisi, confirmed that the halt had been enforced because the developers lacked a valid environmental development certificate at the time.
“The service station now complies with all environmental regulations. The stop-work order issued on February 11, 2025, was a result of the project proceeding without the necessary development certificate,” Mtisi clarified.
Shumba’s name has surfaced in other controversies as well. In 2024, Deputy Judge President Justice Garainesu Mawadze issued an injunction preventing Shumba and the Kubatana Mining Syndicate from displacing villagers in Mberengwa to make way for gold prospecting. Residents had accused him of using armed enforcers to intimidate communities, and alleged that he claimed no authority could challenge his actions.
Further scrutiny came through a Newshawks report, which alleged Shumba’s involvement in unauthorized mining activities at Janasi Mountain — a sacred site in Mberengwa. The report accuses Shumba of spearheading an illegal operation there, backed by a Zanu PF-aligned cartel, which triggered backlash from the local Zimi Machingamidze Clan.
Despite the controversies, state media has portrayed Shumba as a government empowerment success story. According to The Chronicle, Shumba, now 42, once worked as a security guard in Gokwe in the late 1990s before entering the gold mining sector. He eventually secured mining claims through the youth empowerment initiative, including sites abandoned during the land reform era.
“The site was originally owned by white miners who vacated it during the land reform. They had tried to conceal its ongoing mining operations,” said a source quoted by The Chronicle.
Today, Shumba owns multiple gold claims and GTS-branded service stations in both Mberengwa and Kwekwe, reportedly leveraging his mining profits to grow his business empire.
