Oshikoto Region

Last updated
Oshikoto Region
Region
Oshikoto in Namibia.svg
Location of the Oshikoto Region in Namibia
Country Namibia
Capital Tsumeb (-2008), Omuthiya (2008-present)
Government
 • Governor Penda Ya Ndakolo [1]
Area
[2]
 • Total38,685 km2 (14,936 sq mi)
Population
 (2023 census) [3] [4]
 • Total257,302
 • Density6.7/km2 (17/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+2 (CAT)
HDI (2017)0.636 [5]
medium · 7th
Website oshikotorc.gov.na

Oshikoto is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, named after Lake Otjikoto. Its capital is Omuthiya. Further major settlements in the region are Tsumeb, Otjikoto's capital until 2008, and Oniipa. As of 2020, Oshikoto had 112,170 registered voters. [6]

Contents

Geography

Oshikoto Region is named after Lake Otjikoto [7] near its former capital Tsumeb.

Oshikoto is one of only three Namibian regions without either a shoreline or a foreign border. It borders the following regions:

Demographics

The region's population has grown significantly over recent years, partly as a result of resettling / redistribution within the Oshiwambo-speaking area. Apart from Tsumeb and Oniipa, people have settled in a corridor along the trunk road, sometimes forming quite dense concentrations.

Economy and infrastructure

The northern part of the region practices crop agriculture, whereas the main economic activities in the southern part are cattle rearing and mining. The two areas have important cultural and historical links in that the Ndonga people have extracted copper at Tsumeb since the earliest times in order to make rings and tools.

Pearl millet (Mahangu) is the principal crop in the north, while cattle are reared in the Mangetti and the Tsumeb district. Although the Tsumeb mine has only a limited life span, it provides a boost for the communal areas of the region together with the associated support industries and services.

Communication networks and infrastructure are well developed in the area: a paved trunk road runs across the region, linking it to both the south and the north of the country. The national microwave network terminates at Tsumeb, but telecommunications are now carried across the region and as far as Oshakati by means of a newly laid optical fiber cable.

According to the 2012 Namibia Labour Force Survey, unemployment in the Oshikoto Region is 26.4%. [8] Oshikoto has 200 schools with a total of 60,439 pupils. [9]

Politics

Oshikoto comprises eleven constituencies:

Regional elections

Electorally, Oshana region is consistently dominated by the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO). The 2015 local and regional elections saw SWAPO obtain 98.8% of the votes cast (2010: 95.6%) [6] and win nine of the eleven constituencies uncontested . [10] The remaining two constituencies were also won by SWAPO with majorities well over 80%. [11]

Although SWAPO's support dropped to 73.2% of the total votes in the 2020 regional election it again won in all constituencies. Most of the non-SWAPO votes went to the upstart Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), an opposition party formed in August 2020. [6]

Governors

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsumeb</span> City in Oshikoto Region, Namibia

Tsumeb is a city of around 35,000 inhabitants and the largest town in the Oshikoto region in northern Namibia. Tsumeb is known as the "gateway to the north" of Namibia. It is the closest town to the Etosha National Park. Tsumeb used to be the regional capital of Oshikoto until 2008 when Omuthiya was proclaimed a town and the new capital. The area around Tsumeb forms its own electoral constituency and has a population of 44,113. The town is the site of a deep mine that in its heyday was known as "TCL", but has since been renamed the Ongopolo Mine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omuthiya</span> Place in Oshikoto Region, Namibia

Omuthiyagwiipundi is the capital of Oshikoto Region in northern Namibia, situated approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Etosha National Park. It has about 7,500 residents. Prior to Omuthiya, Tsumeb was the regional capital. The town has been proclaimed in October 2007 and the Omuthiya Town Council established in September 2008.

Oniipa is a town in the Oshikoto Region of northern Namibia and the district capital of the Oniipa electoral constituency. It lies just outside Ondangwa.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guinas Constituency</span> Electoral constituency in the Oshikoto region of northern Namibia

Guinas Constituency is an electoral constituency in the Oshikoto Region of Namibia. It had 8,435 inhabitants in 2004 and 4,210 registered voters in 2020. Guinas consists of the rural area surrounding the mining town of Tsumeb. Larger settlements in the Guinas constituency are Oshivelo and Tsintsabis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okankolo Constituency</span> Electoral constituency in the Oshikoto region of northern Namibia

Okankolo Constituency is an electoral constituency in the Oshikoto Region of Namibia. It had 12,926 inhabitants in 2004 and 8,487 registered voters in 2020. The district capital is the settlement of Okankolo. Settlements in this constituency include Onkumbula, Omeyantalala, Omakango, Omunduta, Omhuuda, and Omutwewomedi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olukonda Constituency</span> Electoral constituency in the Oshikoto region of northern Namibia

Olukonda Constituency is an electoral constituency in the Oshikoto Region of Namibia. It had 9,094 inhabitants in 2004 and 7,495 registered voters in 2020. The district capital is the settlement of Olukonda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omuntele Constituency</span> Electoral constituency in the Oshikoto region of northern Namibia

Omuntele Constituency is an electoral constituency in the Oshikoto Region on the northern part of Namibia. It had 21,884 inhabitants in 2004 and 9,854 registered voters in 2020. The district capital is the settlement of Omuntele.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onayena Constituency</span> Electoral constituency in the Oshikoto region of northern Namibia

Onayena Constituency is an electoral constituency in the Oshikoto Region of Namibia. The district capital is the settlement of Onayena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oniipa Constituency</span> Electoral constituency in the Oshikoto region of northern Namibia

Oniipa Constituency is an electoral constituency in the Oshikoto Region of Namibia. It had 23,913 inhabitants in 2004 and 14,236 registered voters in 2020. The constituency office is situated in the settlement of Oniipa. Further settlements in this constituency are Oshigambo, and Onanjokwe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onyaanya Constituency</span> Electoral constituency in the Oshikoto region of northern Namibia

Onyaanya Constituency is an electoral constituency in the Oshikoto Region of Namibia. It had 13,474 inhabitants in 2004 and 11,434 registered voters in 2020. Its district capital is the settlement of Onyaanya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsumeb Constituency</span> Electoral constituency in the Oshikoto region of northern Namibia

Tsumeb Constituency is an electoral constituency in the Oshikoto Region of Namibia, comprising the town area and surroundings of Tsumeb. It had a population of 44,113 in 2004 and 19,065 registered voters in 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 "Goodbye". Namibian Sun . 10 April 2020. p. 1.
  2. ↑ "Namibia's Population by Region". Election Watch. Institute for Public Policy Research (1): 3. 2013.
  3. ↑ "Oshikoto 2011 Census Regional Profile" (PDF). Statistics Namibia. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "2023 Population & Housing Census Preliminary Report" (PDF). Statistics Namibia.
  5. ↑ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  6. 1 2 3 "Regional Council 2020 Election Results". Interactive map. Electoral Commission of Namibia. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  7. ↑ Heita, Desie (13 November 2015). "Oshikoto scores big in development budget". New Era .
  8. ↑ Duddy, Jo Maré (11 April 2013). "Unemployment rate still alarmingly high". The Namibian . Archived from the original on 14 April 2013.
  9. ↑ Miyanicwe, Clemans; Kahiurika, Ndanki (27 November 2013). "School counsellors overstretched". The Namibian . p. 1.
  10. ↑ Kangootui, Nomhle (23 October 2015). "Swapo gets ǃNamiǂNûs uncontested". The Namibian . Archived from the original on October 24, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Regional Council Election Results 2015". Electoral Commission of Namibia. 3 December 2015. p. 19. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015.
  12. ↑ Nawatiseb, Engel. "Oshikoto governor creates awareness". New Era . Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  13. ↑ "President announces governors". The Namibian . 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.

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