Kavango East is one of the fourteen

regions of Namibia Namibia uses regions as its first-level subnational administrative divisions. Since 2013, it has 14 regions which in turn are subdivided into 121 constituencies. Upon Namibian independence, the pre-existing subdivisions from the South African ...

. Its capital is Rundu, its governor is Bonifatius Wakudumo. The Region was created in 2013 when the

Kavango Region Kavango (before 1998: Okavango) was one of the thirteen regions of Namibia until it was split into the Kavango East and Kavango West Regions in 2013. Its capital was Rundu. In the north, Kavango bordered the Cuando Cubango Province of Angola, ...

was split into Kavango East and Kavango West. The only self-governed settlements in Kavango East are the capital Rundu and the village of Divundu. The region contains the western half of the

Caprivi Strip The Caprivi Strip, also known simply as Caprivi, is a geographic salient protruding from the northeastern corner of Namibia. It is surrounded by Botswana to the south and Angola and Zambia to the north. Namibia, Botswana and Zambia meet at a ...

. In the north, Kavango East borders the Cuando Cubango Province of

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, and in the south and southeast the North-West District of Botswana. Domestically, it borders the following regions: *

Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

– east *

Otjozondjupa Otjozondjupa is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Otjiwarongo. The region further contains the municipalities of Okahandja and Grootfontein and the towns Okakarara and Otavi. , Otjozondjupa had 97,945 registered voters. ...

– southwest * Kavango West – west Because of its rather high rainfall compared to most other parts of Namibia and its location on the Kavango River after which it was named, this region has agricultural potential for the cultivation of a variety of crops, as well as for organised forestry and agro-forestry, which stimulates furniture making and related industries. Kavango East and its sister region Kavango West are nevertheless the poorest regions in Namibia.

Politics

The Fourth Delimitation Commission of Namibia, responsible for recommending on the country's administrative divisions suggested in August 2013 to split the

into two. Then-president

Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1936) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 presidential election overwhelmingly as the candidate of SWAPO, and wa ...

enacted the recommendations. As a result, two new regions of Kavango East and Kavango West were created. As of 2020, Kavango East had 80,450 registered voters.

Administrative division

The region is subdivided into six electoral constituencies: *

Mashare Mashare is a settlement in the Kavango East Region of Namibia, just east of Rundu, the regional capital. It is the district capital of Mashare Constituency. The settlement hosted a leprosarium until the early 1980s when the Namibian War of Indepen ...

* Mukwe * Ndiyona *

Ndonga Linena Ndonga, also called Oshindonga, is a Bantu dialect spoken in Namibia and parts of Angola. It is a standardized dialect of the Ovambo language, and is mutually intelligible with Kwanyama, the other Ovambo dialect with a standard written form. Wi ...

Rundu Rural Rundu Rural (until 2013 Rundu Rural East) is an electoral constituency in the Kavango East Region of Namibia. It comprises the area east of Rundu, one of Namibia's largest cities. It had a population of 22,538 in 2011, up from 18,250 in 2001. the ...

* Rundu Urban In the 2015 regional elections

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

won in all six constituencies and obtained 79% (

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

: 73%) of all votes. In the 2020 regional election SWAPO was still the strongest party but its support dropped to 62% of the popular vote, and it lost

to an

independent candidate An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

Governors

Samuel Mbambo Rev. Samuel Kaveto Mbambo (born in Kavango Region) is a Namibian politician, diplomat, theologian, historian, and academic. He was a governor of the Kavango Region, and after its split into Kavango West and Kavango East, also of these new entities. ...

(2013–2020) # Bonifatius Wakudumo (2020–present)

Transport

There is a particular dearth of north-south roads in the Region, apart from the Rundu- Grootfontein main road. Rundu has a small airstrip to accommodate medium-sized tourist or cargo aircraft in daylight only. The poor condition of the roads and the long distances had a negative effect on tourism; this situation was improved by the completion of the

Trans–Caprivi Highway The Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Road (previously ''Trans-Caprivi Corridor'' and until 2004 ''Trans-Caprivi-Highway'', accessed on 27 August 2014.) runs from Walvis Bay, through Rundu in north eastern Namibia, along the Caprivi Strip ...

. A major highway connecting Rundu to western Kavango and the

Ohangwena Region Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi aa well as the self-governed village of Okongo. , Ohangwena had 150,724 registered voters. Ohangw ...

is under construction.

References

External links

{{Authority control Regions of Namibia States and territories established in 2013 2013 establishments in Namibia