04 Apr 2023

Okavango District Councillors have voted for a motion pleading with Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to consider Shakawe to be Okavango District headquarters, not Gumare. 

Eleven councillors supported the motion while five were against it.

Tabling the motion, Councillor for Shakawe East, Mr Lesedi Boy said the motion followed his consultation with communities in the Okavango District, who wanted Shakawe to be the district headquarters.

He said Shakawe was central to the Eastern aka overseas and Western Okavango, therefore the people would access services better. 

Mr Boy said Shakawe had a competitive edge over Gumare as it had three shopping complexes and some departments’ district offices such as police offices.

He also said Shakawe had a larger population as per the recent population and housing census.

Councillor for Shakawe West/Mohembo, Mr Matsaudi Matsaudi, who supported the motion, said Shakawe should be considered as it had a population of about 50 000 while Gumare had a population of about 23 000.

He said it would not be a peculiar thing for a district headquarters to be moved from one place to the other in Botswana.

Councillor for Seronga/Gunotsoga, Mr Boipuso Mangurunga said Shakawe should be considered a district due to its geographical location as it had tourism attractions such as the Okavango Delta, which played a significant role in the economy.

Opposing the motion, councillor for Gumare/Tubu South, Mr Keobinetse Matenanga said making Shakawe the headquarters would be an unfavourable for villages such as Xaixai and Nxauxau because of distance issues.

He said Gumare was appropriate as the district headquarters as it already had infrastructure such as the Rural Administration Centre,  which needed upgrading only, as compared to establishing a new one in Shakawe.

Councillor for Qangwa-Xaixai, Mr Lelejwang Sokwe requested for the motion to be deferred and be restructured, adding that the motion was contradicting government’s decision of upgrading already existing sub-district councils. ENDS