Kweneng is one of the

districts of Botswana Botswana is divided into 10 administrative district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regi ...

and is the recent historical homeland of the

Bakwena The Bakoena or Bakwena ("those who venerate the crocodile") are a large clan in Southern Africa. They form part of the Sotho-Tswana Bantu people and can be found in different countries such as Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini ...

people, the first group in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

by famed missionary

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

. Various landmarks, including Livingstone's Cave, allude to this history. The seat of the district's government is

Molepolole Molepolole is a large village in Kweneng District, Botswana. The people who reside in Molepolole are called Bakwena, who are one of the eight major tribes in Botswana. The Bakwena Kgosi (Chief), Sebele I was among the three chiefs who went to En ...

, Botswana's most populous village (only trailing

's two cities:

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaboron ...

and

Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...

). It borders Central District in northeast,

Kgatleng District Kgatleng is one of the districts of Botswana, coterminous with the homeland of the Bakgatla people. Its capital is Mochudi, the hometown of protagonist Precious Ramotswe in Alexander McCall Smith's popular ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' ...

on the east, South-East District in southeast, Southern District in south,

Kgalagadi District Kgalagadi is a district in southwest Botswana, lying along the country's border with Namibia and South Africa. The administrative center is Tsabong. The district of Kgalagadi covers a large part of the Kalahari Desert. It has a total area of 105,20 ...

in the west,

Ghanzi District Ghanzi (sometimes Gantsi) is a district in western Botswana, bordering Namibia in the west and extending east into much of the interior of the country. The district's administrative centre is the town of Ghanzi. Most of the eastern half of Ghanzi m ...

in the north. The district is administered by a district administration and district council which are responsible for local administration. Manyana rock paintings in Manyana village and Kgosi Sechele I Museum are the major attractions in the district. As of 2011, the total population of the district was 304,549 compared to 230,335 in 2001. The growth rate of population during the decade was 2.83. As of 2006, the total number of people working in Kweneng East in agricultural sector was 7,212, 4,727 male and 2,484 female, with agriculture being the major profession.

Geography

Kweneng is the only district without a foreign border. It borders Central District in northeast,

on the east, South-East District in southeast, Southern District in south,

in the west,

in the north. The region is traversed by the northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude. Most part of Botswana has tableland slopes sliding from east to west. The region has an average elevation of around above the mean sea level. The vegetation type is

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, with tall grasses, bushes and trees. The annual precipitation is around , most of which is received during the summer season from November to May. Most of the rivers in the region are seasonal, with

Metsimotlhabe River The Metsimotlhabe River is the largest river in the Kweneng District of Botswana, draining the area that lies to the south of Molepolole into the Notwane River, in turn a tributary of the Limpopo River. The name "Metsimotlhabe" means "water sand ...

, which are prone to flash floods, being the most prominent. Manyana rock paintings in Manyana village and Kgosi Sechele I Museum are the major attractions in the district.

Demographics

As of 2011, the total population of the district was 304,549 compared to 230,335 in 2001. The growth rate of population during the decade was 2.83. The population in the district was 15.04 per cent of the total population in the country. The sex ratio stood at 96.53 for every 100 males, compared to 93.90 in 2001. The average house hold size was 2.86 in 2011 compared to 4.34 in 2001. There were 11,142 craft and related workers, 4,692 clerks, 14,054 people working in elementary occupation 1,263 Legislators, Administrators & managers 6,378 Plant & machine operators and assemblers, 1,790 professionals, 7,227 service workers, shop & market sales workers, 2,988 skilled agricultural & related workers 4,125 technicians and associated professionals, making the total work force to 54,176.

Education and economy

As of 2011, there were a total of 101 schools in the district, with 16.70 per cent private schools. The total number of students in the Council schools was 43,930 while it was 3,646 in private schools. The total number os students enrolled in the district was 47,576 constituting 23,121 girls and 24,455 boys. The total number of qualified teachers was 1,849 with 1,449 females and 400 males. There were around 094 temporary teachers, 46 male and 140 female. There were a total of 6 untrained teachers in the district. As of 2006, the total number of people working in Kweneng East in the agricultural sector was 12,740, 7,786 male and 4,954 female. There were 3,314 people in construction industry, 4,141 in education, 178 in electricity and water, 557 in finance, 531 in foreign mission, 269 in health industry, 2,088 in hotels and restaurants, 200 in local government, 578 in manufacturing, 1,358 in mining & quarrying 2,503 in other community services, 858 in private households, 504 in public administration, 6,142 in real estate, 25,969 in transport and communication industry and 2,484 wholesale industries. The total working population was 7,212 with 706 males and 296 females. As of 2006, the total number of people working in Kweneng East in the agricultural sector was 7,212, 4,727 male and 2,484 female. There were 1,001 people in construction industry, 164 in education, 073 in electricity and water, 073 in finance, 250 in foreign mission, 228 in health industry, 064 in hotels and restaurants, 648 in local government, 11,963 in manufacturing, 5,309 in mining & quarrying 918 in other community services, 125 in private households, 45 in public administration, 458 in real estate, 756 in transport and communication industry and 435 wholesale industries. The total working population was 756 with 184 males and 219 females.

Administration

Botswana gained independence from the British colonization of Africa, 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. 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. 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. Kweneng District has two census districts namely Kweneng East and Kweneng West.

References

External links