Oshakati
Oshakati
Otshakati tsha Nangombe | |
|---|---|
 New town council building | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Motto(s): Unity, Justice, Development | |
  Oshakati Located in northern Namibia | |
| Coordinates: 17°47′1″S 15°41′57.8″E / 17.78361°S 15.699389°E | |
| Country |  Namibia |
| Region | Oshana Region |
| Constituency | Oshakati East Oshakati West |
| Founded | July 1966 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Leonard Hango[1] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 56.3 km2 (21.7 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 58,696 |
| • Density | 1,000/km2 (2,700/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Climate | BSh |
Oshakati is a town in northern Namibia. It is the regional capital of the Oshana Region and one of Namibia's largest cities both by population and as an economic center.
Oshakati was founded in July 1966 and proclaimed a town in 1992. The town was used as a base of operations by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the South African Border War.
History
[edit]In Oshiwambo, the language of the Ovambo people, the town's name means "that which is in between", although some believe that the name (Oshakati, also Otshakati) was used to refer to the broadcasting tower, which at 275 metres (902 ft) high was the tallest structure in the town centre and in Namibia.
On 19 February 1988, a bomb blast at the First National Bank in Oshakati killed 27 people and badly injuring nearly 30 others, most of them nurses and teachers. No one was ever convicted of the bombing and the issue was dropped upon independence in 1990 in favour of national reconciliation.[4]
Economy and infrastructure
[edit]Oshakati has experienced much development since Namibia achieved independence in 1990. It was proclaimed a town in 1992.[5]
Oshakati is located near the B1, Namibia's main highway, which stretches from South Africa through the capital Windhoek and on to the Angolan border.
Since the turn of the century, there are now many shops like Jet, Mr Price, furniture stores, shoes stores, pharmacies, etc. The three main shopping centres are Game, Etango, and Yetu. The Oshakati Independence Stadium is situated in town.
In April 2006, the Oshakati town council building was inaugurated by Botswana's president Festus Mogae. Dr. Frans Aupa Indongo Open Market sells groceries, dried fish and dried Mopane worms.[6]
Geography
[edit]Location
[edit]Oshakati is situated in the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin and cut by the Okatana River. Both of these geographic features make the town prone to flooding; in 2008 it was last hit by heavy floods. The Oshakati Master Plan Project is underway to build a 23 kilometres (14 mi) dike around the town, to deepen and straighten the river, and to resettle people living near the riverbed and clogging the flow of water.[7]
Climate
[edit]Oshakati has a semi-arid climate (BSh, according to the Köppen climate classification), with hot summers and relatively mild winters (with warm days and cool nights). The average annual precipitation is 472 mm (19 in), with most rainfall occurring mainly during summer.
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Politics
[edit]Oshakati is governed by a town council that has seven seats.[8] The town area covers two electoral constituencies, Oshakati East and Oshakati West.
Oshana Region, to which Oshakati belongs, is a stronghold of Namibia's ruling SWAPO party. In the 2015 local authority election SWAPO won by a landslide (4,569 votes) and gained six council seats. The remaining seat went to the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) which gained 330 votes.[9] Major Katrina Shimbulu from SWAPO has been serving in this position from 2007 to 2010, and again after the 2015 election.[10]
SWAPO also won the 2020 local authority election. It obtained 3,028 votes and gained four seats. The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), an opposition party formed in August 2020, obtained 1,887 votes and gained three seats.[11] Leonard Hango is[update] mayor of Oshakati.[1]
Education
[edit]Formerly known as the Northern Campus, Oshakati Campus is the oldest satellite campus of the University of Namibia, inaugurated on 7 May 1998 by Sam Nujoma, Founding President of the Republic of Namibia and UNAM founding chancellor.[12]
Many primary and secondary schools are to be found in Oshakati, e.g. Iipumbu, Oshakati, Ngolo, Erundu Secondary School, Cabatana and others, including Afoti Combined School in Uuvudhiya constituency in Oshana Region in the Omapopo cluster of Oshakati Circuit.
The Oshana Regional Study and Resource Center was established on September 17, 2014, through the assistance of the Millennium Challenge Account Namibia (MCA-N).[13] Situated between the GIPF house and the Social Security regional head office in Oshakati, the library can host up to 600 people, has 220 study spaces, a meeting hall that can accommodate 125 seated people, a video conferencing room, and shelving spaces for up to 35,000 books.[14]
Culture
[edit]Oshakati town, (popularly known as 'Otshakati tsha Nangombe' by the native Kwambi people) is within the Kwambi traditional authority.
Oshakati Town Council hosts the annual Oshakati Totem Expo. It combines the celebration of local traditions with a modern business exhibition.[15] The event was launched by Oshana governor Clemens Kashuupulwa, on 9 June 2012. The four-day event now annually takes place in the months of June or July.
Oshakati has a football team, Oshakati City FC.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Vatleni, Eino (27 November 2023). "Northern re-elected mayors promise quality service delivery". The Namibian.
- ^ "Table 4.2.2 Urban population by Census years (2001 and 2011)" (PDF). Namibia 2011 - Population and Housing Census Main Report. Namibia Statistics Agency. p. 39. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ "2023 Population & Housing Census Preliminary Report" (PDF). Statistics Namibia.
- ^ Oswald Shivute (20 February 2007): Oshakati bomb blast remembered. The Namibian
- ^ Ndeyanale, Eliaser (28 December 2021). "Oshakati invites street name proposals". The Namibian.
- ^ "The photographs of Dr. Frans Aupa Indongo Open Market, October 2017". Independent Travellers. independent-travellers.com. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
- ^ Amukwaya, Yvonne (21 August 2014). "Towards a flood-free Oshakati". The Namibian. Focus on the North supplement, page 2.
- ^ "Know Your Local Authority". Election Watch. No. 3. Institute for Public Policy Research. 2015. p. 4.
- ^ "Local elections results". Electoral Commission of Namibia. 28 November 2015. p. 6. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015.
- ^ Ileka, Merja (7 December 2015). "Shimbulu back as Oshakati mayor". Namibian Sun. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ "2020 Local Authority Elections Results and Allocation of Seats" (PDF). Electoral Commission of Namibia. 29 November 2020. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ "Oshakati Campus". University of Namibia. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ Oshana Regional Study and Resource Centre officially opened Lela, September 17, 2014
- ^ Oshakati resource centre inaugurated Archived 23 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine Haufiku, Edson, Informate, 18 September 2014
- ^ "Does the Oshakati Town Council offer bursaries, loans for businesses or SME funding?". www.oshtc.na. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2017.