Gweru’s Go Beer Reopens After US$2.7m Revamp — Local Economy Gets a Boost

Gweru’s Go Beer Breweries has reopened after a US$2.7 million refurbishment, creating over 90 jobs and reviving a key municipal enterprise under Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 drive for local economic growth (image source)

GWERU — The City of Gweru’s decision to invest in reviving Go Beer Breweries has delivered an early economic win for the Midlands: the brewery reopened this month following a US$2.7 million refurbishment and has already rehired scores of local workers, signalling renewed municipal enterprise under the Second Republic’s Vision 2030 agenda.

“This project shows how Government has created a stable climate for business growth and employment creation,” said Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Honourable Owen Ncube at the commissioning ceremony, noting that the facility now employs more than 90 local workers.

Go Beer is producing roughly 15,000 litres of beer per day, with an installed capacity that can reach 45,000 litres when fully scaled — a level officials say will generate meaningful revenue for municipal services and local supply chains. City and brewery executives argue the reopening will restore a former source of council income that had lain dormant for nearly a decade after the plant’s closure amid financial difficulties.

The revival follows a wider municipal push to leverage council-owned enterprises to create jobs and bolster service delivery in line with President Mnangagwa’s oft-cited mantra that “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo,” officials said at the event.

Gweru Mayor Martin Chivhoko and Go Beer CEO Edward Rusike said the plant’s restart will provide immediate employment and longer-term linkages with local farmers and transporters. Rusike framed the reopening as a revenue and service-delivery tool for the city, while officials highlighted downstream benefits for informal traders and hospitality outlets that depend on reliable local beverage supplies.

“We are excited to celebrate the reopening after ten years of closure. This milestone not only creates employment for locals but also generates revenue for the city’s upkeep,” Edward Rusike said.

Go Beer’s resurrection follows earlier reports that the brewery closed due to mounting debts, which at one point were reported to be around US$2.6 million, a legacy the council must now manage as it restores the business to profitability. Analysts caution that municipal enterprises carry governance and financial risks — success depends on transparent oversight, sustainable demand, and disciplined reinvestment of returns into both the business and city services.

The reopening was framed by officials as evidence of national and local alignment with Vision 2030 aims to industrialise and create jobs. Minister Owen Ncube urged councils to replicate the model of local economic stewardship, describing the brewery as “a model for local authority-led business initiatives” and an example of how public assets can be rehabilitated for community gain.

If managed prudently, Go Beer’s comeback could offer a replicable template for council-led industrial revival across Zimbabwe’s municipalities — turning mothballed plants into engines of local growth and revenue generation.