It is bisected by the Mwenezi River and the A4 highway, the main thoroughfare that connects the town of Beitbridge, on the border with South Africa, to Masvingo.

As in other rural parts of the country, the schools in Mwenezi are government run, although some have historical links with missionary Christian denominations.

The fact that all the secondary schools (other than Lundi) were established after independence, is testimony to the marginalization of the district and the "catching up" it needs to do.

Some students, especially those from villages along the Mwenezi River, below the main wall of the Manyuchi Dam, have to walk long distances to school, about fifteen to twenty kilometers.

The district's main employers are sugarcane plantations in Rutenga, Triangle and Chiredzi all connected by a railway line from Bulawayo.

As in most rural districts in the country, many people are also employed in the civil service mainly as teachers and nurses.

Few young people remain in the villages across the district, preferring to take their chances in South Africa working one menial contract job after the next.

In the early 2010's, fish farming projects were introduced in several major dams as a way to combat poverty in the district caused by the drought induced decline in agriculture.

The withdrawal of government-funded grain collection and distribution facilities as part of neoliberal reforms in the 1990s and the recent (1998–2008) economic woes of the country led to the decline of these centers.

[7] Ever since 2000, there have been sporadic reports of violence in the district, mostly perpetrated by ZANU-PF supporters and war veterans on their perceived enemies.

Masukume Pilot (Zanu-PF) and Tedious Douglas (MDC Tsvangirai) battled for the Mwenezi West constituency.

[12] The primary mode of transport is by donkey cart, and phone lines connect most of the business centers with the outside world.

In recent years, as the economy of Zimbabwe has declined, shortage of drugs and equipment at hospitals emerged, although staffing levels by the end of 2010 had improved.

Owing to the low rates of literacy, especially in Mwenezi West, TB remains a threat to the district as the affected usually don't finish their treatment regimes.

However, cases of the malady have been reported to be on the increase in recent years as the highly mobile youth that venture to South Africa in search of jobs gets exposed to the virus and bring it back.

The area south of the Mwenezi River, beyond the Maranda communal lands, is dominated by some of the country's largest ranches.