Matsiloje is a village in the North East 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 ...

on the west bank of the

Ramokgwebana River The Ramokgwebana River (or Ramoqueban) is a river that defines part of the boundary between Botswana and Zimbabwe before entering the Shashe River from the left. History The Tati District, a grant made to Captain Levert by the Northern Ndebele p ...

, which forms the border with

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 ...

. A tarmac road connects the village to

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 ...

, to the east. The village has a junior secondary school. The village lies beside the Matsiloje hills, which are quarried for limestone used in manufacturing cement and soapstone products. The exploratory Muphanephane gold mine is in the Matsiloje area. In 2002 there was an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the Matsiloje and Matshelagabedi areas, with another outbreak in the Matopi and Tseteng areas towards the end of the year. 12,000 cattle were killed in Matsiloje/Matshelagabedi and 4000 cattle in Matopi/Tseteng. The government compensated farmers with cash and animals, and instituted a relief work program. The village is affected by illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe, and resulting crime. Before construction of the

Dikgatlhong Dam The Dikgatlhong Dam is a dam near the village of Robelela on the Shashe River in Botswana, completed in December 2011. When full it will hold . The next largest dam in Botswana, the Gaborone Dam, has capacity of . Purpose The dam is located on t ...

began to the south of Matsiloje in 2008, the government arranged for counselling services on AIDS to residents of Matsiloje as well as of the

Mmadinare Mmadinare is a village that is located in the Central District of Botswana, 15 kilometers from Selibe Phikwe. The village is slowly growing into a town, with a population estimate of about 13 000 (estimates from the 2004 census) people of differe ...

Robelela Robelela is a village in Central District of Botswana. It is located south-east of Francistown, close to the border with Zimbabwe. The population was 471 in 2001 census. Robelela in the Bobirwa Sub-District, is the village closest to the Dikgat ...

, Matopi, Chokwe and Patayamatebele villages. Preparations were made for additional demands for health and policing services.

References

Citations Sources * * Villages in Botswana Populated places in Central District (Botswana) {{botswana-geo-stub