Oshakati

Oshakati
town

New City Council building

Seal
Nickname(s): shanangobe kashiiwa nambelela
Motto: Unity, Justice, Development
Oshakati

Located at the north of Namibia

Coordinates: 17°47′1″S 15°41′57.8″E / 17.78361°S 15.699389°E / -17.78361; 15.699389Coordinates: 17°47′1″S 15°41′57.8″E / 17.78361°S 15.699389°E / -17.78361; 15.699389
Country  Namibia
Region Oshana Region
Government
  Mayor Katrina Shimbulu[1]
Population (2011)[2]
  Total 36,541
Time zone South African Standard Time (UTC+1)
Climate BSh
Broadcasting tower (275 Meter high) in Oshakati
Observation Tower Oshungo ya Shakati at the new market (48 m high)
The new „Dr. Frans Aupa Indongo Open Market“ in Oshakati, opened on 11 March 2016 by the President
The old open market of Oshakati at C46 (demolished in 2016)

Oshakati is a town[3] of 37,000 inhabitants in the Oshana Region of Namibia. It is the regional capital and was officially founded in July 1966. The city was used as a base of operations by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the South African Border War and Namibian War of Independence. Oshakati is considered to be the largest town and capital of the northern area known as Ovamboland.

Oshakati contains the electoral constituencies of Oshakati East and Oshakati West.

History

In Oshiwambo, the language of the Ovambo, 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 broadcast tower (275 m high), the tallest freestanding structure downtown and in Namibia. Oshakati is one of Namibia's largest cities and it is located near the B1, Namibia's main highway, which stretches from South Africa through the capital Windhoek and on to the Angolan border. The Oshakati town, (popularly known as 'Otshakati tsha Nangombe' by the native Kwambi people) is within the Kwambi traditional authority.

In February 1988, a bomb blast occurred in Oshakati at the First National Bank, killing 27 people and badly injuring nearly 30 others, most of them nurses and teachers. No one was ever officially convicted of the bombing and the issue was dropped upon independence in 1990 in favour of national reconciliation.[4]

Development and infrastructure

Oshakati has experienced much development since Namibia achieved independence on March 21, 1990. In April 2006, the Oshakati Town Council building was inaugurated by Botswana's President Festus Mogae.

The Oshana Regional Study and Resource Center was established on September 17, 2014 through the assistance of the Millennium Challenge Account Namibia (MCA-N).[5] 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.[6]

Oshakati has a football team, Oshakati City FC.

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.

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. There is also Oshakati Independence Stadium and University of Namibia Northern campus.

Geography

Location

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

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.

Oshakati
Climate chart (explanation)
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
109
 
 
32
19
 
 
118
 
 
31
19
 
 
98
 
 
28
18
 
 
29
 
 
30
16
 
 
3
 
 
29
12
 
 
0
 
 
26
8
 
 
0
 
 
27
7
 
 
0
 
 
29
9
 
 
1
 
 
33
14
 
 
10
 
 
34
17
 
 
47
 
 
33
19
 
 
57
 
 
32
19
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: World Climate Guide

Politics

Oshakati is governed by a town council that currently has seven seats.[8] Major Katrina Shimbulu from Swapo party has been serving in this position from 2007 to 2010, and again after the 2015 regional elections.[1]

Culture

Oshakati Town Council hosts the annual Oshakati Totem Expo, which combines the celebration of local traditions with a modern business exhibition.[9] The event was launched by Oshana governor Clemens Kashuupulwa, on 9 June 2012. It takes place annually for a period of four days in the months of June or July.

Notable residents

References

  1. 1 2 Ileka, Merja (7 December 2015). "Shimbulu back as Oshakati mayor". Namibian Sun.
  2. "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.
  3. Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa
  4. Oshakati bomb blast remembered The Namibian, 20 February 2006
  5. Oshana Regional Study and Resource Centre officially opened Lela, 17 September 2014
  6. Oshakati resource centre inaugurated Haufiku, Edson, informate, 18 September 2014
  7. Amukwaya, Yvonne (21 August 2014). "Towards a flood-free Oshakati". The Namibian. Focus on the North supplement, page 2.
  8. "Know Your Local Authority". Election Watch (3). Institute for Public Policy Research. 2015. p. 4.
  9. http://www.oshtc.na/index.php/downloads/totem-expo-2014/2-uncategorised/49-what-is-totem-expo
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