Mathangwane is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in the Central District of

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 Kalaha ...

administered under Tutume Sub-district Council. The village is located at the confluence of Shashe and Vukwi rivers, 25 kilometres west of the City of Francistown along the A3 highway and almost entirely on the left bank of Shashe River. The population of the village was 5,075 in the 2011 national population and housing census. The village is characterised by many river valleys, mostly

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

History

Shashe_River_Crossing_Bridge_in_Mathangwane

The

is originally an

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

kalanga Kalanga may refer to: * BaKalanga people * Kalanga language Kalanga, or ''TjiKalanga'' (in Zimbabwe), is a Bantu language spoken by the Kalanga people in Botswana and Zimbabwe. It has an extensive phoneme inventory, which includes palatalise ...

and is currently ruled by

She She most commonly refers to: *She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English. She or S.H.E. may also refer to: Literature and films *'' She: A History of Adventure'', an 1887 novel by H. Rider Hagga ...

Itekeng Mongwaketsi Mathangwane. In 2008, Mathangwane planned celebrations for its centenary anniversary. In the 1980s, Mathangwane was known for persistent vehicle accidents that occurred at the

Shashe River The Shashe River (or Shashi River) is a major left-bank tributary of the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe. It rises northwest of Francistown, Botswana and flows into the Limpopo River where Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa meet.single-lane bridge linking the village to the City of Francistown. At the time, there were rumours that there was a resident evil ghost at the bridge which deceived drivers into driving off the bridge at night causing those mostly fatal vehicle accidents. The old single-track road bridge was replaced in the mid 1990s with a new dual-track

single carriageway A single carriageway (British English) or Undivided highway (American English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road has a s ...

bridge and those historic vehicle accidents at the bridge river crossing ended. With the emergence of Francistown as a city in 1997 and the political and economic instability in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

, Mathangwane saw an influx of migrants from other tribes of Botswana who couldn't afford accommodation rentals in the new city and illegal

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

from Zimbabwe who had fled

economic collapse Economic collapse, also called economic meltdown, is any of a broad range of bad economic conditions, ranging from a severe, prolonged depression with high bankruptcy rates and high unemployment (such as the Great Depression of the 1930s), to a ...

and

political persecution Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

causing rapid growth to the village population. These influx led to indigenous villagers being made to forfeit their farmland around the village to government for allocation to newcomers for residential use. In 2003, Mathangwane was made the headquarters of the newly established ''Tonota-North Constituency'' following a constitutional amendment which increased the number of constituencies in Botswana from 40 to the current 57 elected seats. The Constituency has since been renamed ''Shahe-West'' following a number of heated high level

Kgotla A ''kgotla'' (English pronunciation or ) is a public meeting, community council, or traditional law court of a Botswana village. It is usually headed by the village chief or headman, and community decisions are always arrived at by consensus. H ...

meetings in Mathangwane where the majority of residents pointed out their detest of the former name.

Climate

Climate Chart

Tropical Cyclone Dineo

In February 2017, Tropical Cyclone Dineo triggered destructive floods in and around Mathangwane, badly damaging the A3 highway between the City of Francistown and

Sebina Sebina is a village located in the Central District of Botswana. It had 3,276 inhabitants at the 2011 census. See also * List of cities in Botswana The following is a list of cities and towns in Botswana with population of over 3,000 ci ...

Junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...

and further

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

from the

Nata Nata could refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Nata, Botswana, a village in Central District of Botswana * Nata, Cyprus, a small village near Paphos, Cyprus * Natá, Coclé, a town and corregimiento in Natá District, Coclé Province, Panama * Natá Di ...

to Gweta, badly disrupting traffic with some parts of the

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

having to be temporarily closed for safety. The damages to the A3 highway later became some kind of death trap, causing a rise in fatal

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...

accident An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researche ...

s in and around Mathangwane following delays by the Ministry of Transport and Communications in effecting repairs.

Infrastructure

Schools

Mathangwane_Primary_School_86_years_anniversary_commemorative_plaque_-_Closeup

There are two

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s in the Village namely ''Mathangwane Primary School'' and ''Mpatane Primary School'', one

junior secondary school Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

called '' Chamabona Junior Secondary School'' - formally ''Chamabona Community Junior Secondary School'' before being completely taken over by the Government, and two day-care centres in Mathangwane. There is no

senior secondary school The senior secondary years are the years of later adolescence corresponding to the later part of secondary education. Although definitions vary, the senior secondary years are sometimes defined as being from approximately age 15 to age 18. The ...

in the Village. After attaining junior certificate, children are often admitted to either ''Shashe River School,

Mater Spei College Mater Spei College is a government-aided Catholic secondary school located in Francistown, Botswana. It educates a mixture of boarding and day scholar students in grades (11-12) or form 4 and form 5. Location Mater Spei College is located in Bo ...

, Tutume McConnell Community College or

Masunga Senior Secondary School Masunga /ˈmɑːsuŋɡʌ/ is a Bakalanga settlement in the North-East District of Botswana. The village is the Headquarters of the North East District. The nearest city is Francistown which is about away. The Chief of the region is Kgosi Thab ...

''. This arrangement long proved strenuous to underprivileged families with their children dropping from school or performing badly in form five examinations due to the economic pressure.

Roads

With the exception of A3 highway passing through the village, all village internal roads are

dirt road A dirt road or track is a type of unpaved road not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick, or stone; made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable ...

s mostly impassable after heavy rains; existing un-bridged river valley crossings within the village long presented a challenge to villagers' free movement during rainy seasons due to this streams regular

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

. Villagers eagerly approved plans for the construction of ''Mmandunyane- Shashe Mooke- Borolong- Chadibe''-''Mathangwane'' road in early 2007 which they viewed as the only hope for the improvement of the village internal roads infrastructures. Arup Botswana was appointed to do the construction of the road which was said to be 70 km in length. It later emerged that in light of the revenue constraints due to then ongoing global economic and financial crisis, the Central District Council (CDC) had to prioritise on its projects and the road was never constructed.

Healthcare facility

The village healthcare consists of a single clinic staffed with a few full-time general nurses and a single medical doctor handling short term inpatients and outpatients medical reviews. Since the turn of year 2000, the only improvements to the existing clinic was an addition of a Maternity Ward and the installation of a Caravan which serves as a Voluntary

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

Counselling and Testing (VCT) center, a part of the existing Botswana's national HIV treatment programme which saw the Government of Botswana being commended by

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

for ''demonstrating a very high level of political commitment by successfully addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic and showing how antiretroviral therapy could be provided on a large scale in resource-constrained settings''. The clinic refers seriously ill patients requiring hospitalisation to ''Nyangabwe Referral hospital'' and those with severe

mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

to ''Jubilee hospital'' both located in the City of Francistown.

Potable water

The village was connected to Shashe Dam water supply reticulation through the City of Francistown in 2001 which triggered Shashe Dam water treatment plant upgrade works to augment increased

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

demand. Before the nation wide implementation of ''The Water Sector Reforms Programme'' by the government in February 2010 when all existing water supplies and sewage reticulations were taken over by Water Utilities Corporation (WUC), water connections applications and bill payments were only done in Tutume village which is 75 km west of the village at the Local Government offices. WUC has since the take over, opened a local customer service center in the village where all required water services are rendered.

Village shortfalls

Villagers receive Government services from different places with vast geographical distances, i.e. '' City of Francistown, Tonota, Tutume, Marapong, Masunga and

Serowe Serowe (population approximately 60,000) is an urban village in Botswana's Central District. A trade and commercial centre, it is Botswana's third largest village. Serowe has played an important role in Botswana's history, as capital for the Bama ...

'', and this disadvantage locals from benefiting from existing government programs and services. Like many Botswana villages, community developments and minor projects that do not require expert consultancy are controlled by a group of volunteers called the Village Development Committee (VDC). Majority of Mathangwane VDC volunteers use it as a platform to gain popularity before joining the village politics; an unproductive and egocentric practice hindering the success of the Village VDC. Villages similar to Mathangwane in size and population through their VDC developed community projects that continue to sustain the livelihood of their villagers, for example, Mathangwane does not have a Community Hall nor rented small business stalls all which are schemes supported by government through community projects and long proved worthy in income generation for small communities like Mathangwane.

Demographics

Mathangwane is divided into community wards or dikgotlana. They are Mathangwane (main community ward), Mpatane, Nkuelegwa, Mashungwa, Matshegong/Mathiwa (nicknamed Palamakuwe for its residents' noisy unruly parting style in the early 1980s), and other community wards that emerged with village growth. Each kgotlana has its own sub-chief or Kgosana. Until recently, Hobona village, 10 km west of Mathangwane along the road from Francistown to Nata was one of the main and oldest community wards of Mathangwane under the leadership of Mfi Kgosana Seitshwenyeng Hobona. Settlement in the area may have been chosen for the presence of perennial water sources (from the Shashe and Vukwi Rivers). In the late 20th century the village streached along the river bank from the North to the South with the west being locals' seasonal farm land. The eastern side of the

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...

es administered in Masunga Village. The increase in

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

and water system reticulation by government saw new settlers being allocated residential land on the underprivileged villagers' seasonal farm land in the west. This prompted locals to informally call the area New Xadi (named after the government resettlement area for the former Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) San people in the

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 ...

Politics

Brief History

The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) dominated the village

Local Government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

since the first elections in Botswana in 1965 making the village a BDP

stronghold A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...

. Mfi Chite was the first Councillor for the village following a win in the October 1974 general elections; this was after the 1972 constitutional amendment which grouped villages of '' Borolong, Chadibe, Makobo, Mathangwane, Natale and Shashe Mooke'' into a single Local Government Ward un-axing them from the then Tonota Local Government Ward. The grouping was broken down further in 1982 constitutional amendment un-axing villages of ''Borolong, Natale, and Shashemoke'' from the ward. Mfi Chite retained the Local Government Ward seat for BDP in both the 1979 and 1984

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. Mfi Rabeka HULELA won the village Local Government Ward seat again for BDP in the October 1989 general elections following Mfi Chite's retirement from politics at the end of his office term. Mfi Hulela retained the village Local Government Ward seat for BDP in the October 1994 general election and remained the ward Councillor until her death in 1998, after which the ward remained without a Councillor until the October 1999 general elections when Mfi Tabona MUNYADZWE won the ward again under BDP. In 2000, Mr. Ookame NTOBEDZI won the ward

by-elections A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election use ...

under BDP following the passing of Mr. Munyadzwe. In 2003, another constitutional amendment saw Mathangwane being split into two Local Government Wards (''Mathangwane North'' and ''Mathangwane South''). BDP won both Local Government Wards seats in the October 2004 general elections with Mr. Ookame NTOBEDZI representing Mathangwane South and Mfi Gilbert NKHUKHU representing Mathangwane North. In 2007, Mr. Ipuseng CHIKANDA won the by-election of Mathangwane North Local Government Ward seat for the BDP following the passing of Mr. Nkhukhu.

Upsets

With known village political trend, BDP Local Government Wards prospective candidates fiercely contested their

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...

primary elections Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

with the knowledge that a win guaranteed individuals seats at the Local Government

Chambers Chambers may refer to: Places Canada: *Chambers Township, Ontario United States: *Chambers County, Alabama * Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County * Chambers, Nebraska * Chambers, West Virginia * Chambers Township, Hol ...

. Mr. Ookame NTOBEDZI was defeated by Botswana Congress Party (BCP) candidate, Mr. James DLAMINI in Mathangwane South while Mr. Ipuseng CHIKANDA was defeated in Mathangwane North by Mr. Kenosi MABALANE also from BCP in the 2009 General Elections marking the first ever BDP defeat in the village. This surprise defeat of BDP Local Government Wards candidates led to a major campaign in the village in 2010 following the passing of Mr. Baledzi GAOLATHE for the Tonota-North Parliamentary by-elections which BDP won.

Opposition parties Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

later accused the

ruling party The ruling party or governing party in a democratic parliamentary or presidential system is the political party or coalition holding a majority of elected positions in a parliament, in the case of parliamentary systems, or holding the executive ...

(BDP) of using

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

resources including public media in their party campaigns and at the same time opposing funding of political parties by

. The BCP's Local Government surprise victory in the village was viewed as a significant breakthrough in a historical BDP stronghold and

opposition parties Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

made an unofficial pact in support of the BCP's Tonota-North Parliamentary candidate, Dr. Habaundi Njiro HOBONA during the 2010 Parliamentary by-election.

BDP comeback;- 2014 General Elections

The ''Tonota North Constituency'' was re-named ''Shashe-West'' and the Constituency Local Government Wards were re-subdivided into new wards leading to ''Mathangwane North'' and ''Mathangwane South'' wards being merged into a single but smaller Local Government Ward (reduced by un-axing Chadibe and Hobona which had been constituents of the two previous wards) called ''Mathangwane Ward'' to be contested for in the following elections. During the 2014 General Elections, Mr. Nehemiah Gerald HULELA of BDP defeated Mr. Kenosi MABALANE of BCP who had won one of the former

constituent Constituent or constituency may refer to: Politics * An individual voter within an electoral district, state, community, or organization * Advocacy group or constituency * Constituent assembly * Constituencies of Namibia Other meanings * Const ...

wards in the 2009 General Elections. On 25 November 2018, Hon. Hulela passed on, becoming the fourth village seating

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

to be deceased in twenty years. The village ward was again left without a Councillor until the 2019 Botswana General Elections like in 1998.

Lead-up to the 2019 Botswana General Elections

In an effort to gain political mileage, the ruling BDP's area MP, Hon. Fidelis MacDonald MOLAO visited villagers in Shashe-West Constituency addressing

meetings accompanied by the Minister of Transport and Communications announcing that the long-awaited ''Mmandunyane- Shashe Mooke- Borolong- Chadibe''-''Mathangwane'' road construction will begin early 2019. The total distance of the road has now been increased to 82 km and is to include road links to Makobo and Natale villages. The reasons for suspending the road construction earlier after 2007 has been changed by the two

ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

from the original statement of averting the impact of the 2008 global recession to now being due to the high number of homesteads which were supposed to be relocated to pave way for the road. Two former Village Development Committee (VDC) volunteers will be contesting for the village political ''Local Government Ward'' seat under the BDP and Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) continuing the

tradition where the VDC was converted into a political tool.

2019 Elections BDP Win

The ''Mathangwane Ward'' Local Government Elections were eventually won by the BDP with Hon. Samora GABAAKE getting 1,250 votes while Mr. Thabani MODISAOTSILE of UDC got 1,022 votes. The BDP further worn the ''Shashe West Contituency'' Parliamentary Elections with Hon. Fidelis MacDonald MOLAO getting 7,181 votes to Mr. Alfred Alfa MASHUNGWA of UDC who got 5,911 votes, Mr. Gaorewe KEAGILE of

Alliance for Progressives The Alliance for Progressives is a social-liberal political party in Botswana. History In July 2017 the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) president Ndaba Gaolathe and five other members of the party's executive were expelled from the part ...

who got 608 votes and Mr. Blackie Master NDWAPI of Botswana Patriotic Front who got 483 votes.

Industry

The area around Mathangwane consists of crop and cattle farmland. There are also a number of poultry and vegetable farms who supply Francistown and the local market. Mathangwane does not have a major shopping center but has a cluster of shops and bars mostly along the Francistown-Nata main road, selling clothes, fast food, alcohol, building materials to car and bicycle parts. There are also a number of hair salons that boom around Christmas time specialising in afro-styles. The most stable are a few brick molding entrepreneurs who specialise in pressed concrete bricks and supply locals for individual house construction developments. Trade services such as metal-smiths, plumbing, bricklaying, and electrical installation are supplied by individuals, in a largely unregulated trade. Just like other villages in the proximity of a city, Mathangane Villagers has a potential to drive their economy from real estate and construction trade. The Village has recently attracted influx of people working in Francistown looking for rented accommodation and outright property purchases; this resulted in a rapid property appreciation in the Village. There is, however, been little growth in the number of job creation. High rates of crime have become a disincentive to permanent settlement and micro business sector growth in the village.

Sports

Football is the most popular

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

in Mathangwane. The village, like other villages of Botswana hosts an annual Festive Football Tournament which starts on 25 December during

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

with group opening matches. The tournament consists of two groups of five teams participating in a round-robin tournament in which each team is scheduled to play four matches against other teams in the same group. This means that a total of ten matches are played within a group. Points are used to rank the teams within a group with three points awarded for each win, one point awarded for each draw and zero points for all losses. The group winners and

runners-up A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

progress to the knockout stage. The knockout games are played in one day, normally on New Year's Day with the winner of each group playing against the

runner-up {{Short pages monitor