North-West District (Botswana)

North-West
District

Maun

Location within Botswana
Coordinates: 19°30′S 23°30′E / 19.500°S 23.500°E / -19.500; 23.500Coordinates: 19°30′S 23°30′E / 19.500°S 23.500°E / -19.500; 23.500
Country  Botswana
Capital Maun
Area
  Total 129,930 km2 (50,170 sq mi)
Population (2001 census)
  Total 142,970
  Density 1.1/km2 (2.8/sq mi)
Time zone Central Africa Time (UTC+2)

North-West District Council is one of the local authorities of Botswana. It was established in 1966, overlapping the administrative districts of Chobe and Ngamiland. Since 2006, when the Chobe District Council was established, it only administers Ngamiland.[1]

As of 2011, the total population of the district was 175,631 compared to 142,970 in 2001. The growth rate of population during the decade was 2.08. The total number of workers constituted 32,471 with 16,852 males and 15,621 females, with a majority of them involved in agriculture. The district is administered by a district administration and district council which are responsible for local administration.

Maun, Tsodilo Hills, Moremi Game Reserve, Gchwihaba (Drotsky's) Caves, Aha Hills, Nhabe Museum and Maun Educational Park are the major tourist attractions in the district.

Geography

Image of Maun

North-West Districts shares its borders with the following foreign areas: Omaheke Region, Namibia in southwest, Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia in west, Kavango East Region, Namibia in northwest and Zambezi Region, Namibia in north. Domestically, it borders Central District in southeast, Ghanzi District in southwest and Chobe District in the east. Most part of Botswana has tableland slopes sliding from east to west. The region has an average elevation of around 915 m (3,002 ft) above the mean sea level. The vegetation type is Savannah, with tall grasses, bushes and tress. The annual precipitation is around 65 cm (26 in), most of which is received during the summer season from November to May. Most of the rivers in the region are seasonal, with Limpopo River, which are prone to flash floods, being the most prominent.[2] Maun, Tsodilo Hills, Moremi Game Reserve, Gchwihaba (Drotsky's) Caves, Aha Hills, Nhabe Museum and Maun Educational Park are the major tourist attractions in the district.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
198175,997    
1991108,660+43.0%
2001142,970+31.6%
2011175,631+22.8%
Sources:[3]

As of 2011, the total population of the district was 175,631 compared to 142,970 in 2001. The growth rate of population during the decade was 2.08. The population in the district was 8.67 per cent of the total population in the country. The sex ratio stood at 95.11 for every 100 males, compared to 93.43 in 2001. The average house hold size was 3.27 in 2011 compared to 4.49 in 2001. There were 5,437 craft and related workers, 2,290 clerks, 8,777 people working in elementary occupation 1,117 Legislators, Administrators & managers 2,974 Plant & machine operators and assemblers, 856 professionals, 5,812 service workers, shop & market sales workers, 2,398 skilled agricultural & related workers 2,069 technicians and assocaited professionals, making the total work force to 31,915.[3]

Education and economy

Rock art in Tsodilo hills

As of 2011, there were a total of 071 schools in the district, with 8.30 per cent private schools. The total number of students in the Council schools was 28,101, while it was 940 in private schools. The total number of students enrolled in the district was 29,041: 14,190 girls and 14,851 boys. The total number of qualified teachers was 1,070, 658 female and 412 male. There were around 27 temporary teachers, 13 male and 40 female. There were 6 untrained teachers in the district.[4]

As of 2006, 12,737 were involved in agriculture, 1,131 in construction, 2,090 in education, 177 in electricity and water, 88 in finance, 1,000 in health, 1,144 in hotels and restaurants, 1,450 in manufacturing, 403 in other community services, 1,455 in private households, 4,722 in public administration, 932 in real estate, 730 in transport and communications, and 4,412 in wholesale and retail trade. The total number of workers was 32,471, 16,852 male and 15,621 female.[5]

Administration

Moremi Game Reserve

By far the largest settlement in the district is Maun, which had a population of 43,776 in 2001 census. The following is the list of villages noted separately in the 2001 census in each census region.[6]

Botswana gained independence from the British in 1966 and adapted the colonial administration framework to form its district administration. The policies were modified during 1970-74 to address some of the basic issues.[7] The district is administered by a district administration and district council which are responsible for local administration. The policies for the administration are framed by the Ministry of Local Government. The major activities of the council are Tribal Administration, Remote Area Development and Local Governance. The executive powers of the council are vested on a commissioner appointed by the central government. Technical services wing of the Department of Local Government is responsible for developing roads, infrastructure in villages like water supply, schools and recreational facilities.[8] All the staff of the local administration expect District Administration are selected via Unified Local Government Services (ULGS) and the Ministry of Local Government is responsible for their training, deployment and career development.[9] The sub-districts of Central District created as a part of National Development Park of the district are North-West/Ngamiland District are Ngami (hqrs. Maun) and Okavango (hqrs. Gumare).[10]

See also

References

  1. "Districts of Botswana". Government of Botswana. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  2. Singh (2011). Geography. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. p. 12.53. ISBN 978-0-07-107480-3.
  3. 1 2 "Census of Botswana, 2011". Central Statistics Office of Botswana. 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  4. "Education details of Botswana, 2011". Central Statistics Office of Botswana. 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  5. "Labour Force by industry in Botswana, 20006". Central Statistics Office of Botswana. 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  6. "Distribution of population by sex by villages and their associated localities: 2001 population and housing census". Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  7. Picard, Louis A. "Rural Development in Botswana: Administrative Structures and Public Policy". The Journal of Developing Areas. Louis A. Picard. 13 (3). Retrieved 12 November 2016 via JSTOR. (subscription required (help)).
  8. "Regional and Local government in Botswana". Common Wealth of Nations. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  9. UN-HABITAT (2002). Local Democracy and Decentralization in East and Southern Africa: Experiences from Uganda, Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. p. 57. ISBN 9789211316667.
  10. Gaotlhobogwe, Monkagedi. "Botswana broken into 19 new sub-districts". MMegi Online. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
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