Newala Town, is a

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 regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

level town council in the

Mtwara Region Mtwara Region (''Mkoa wa Mtwara'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The regional capital is the municipality of Mtwara. Mtwara Region is home to one of the most infuluencial people in Tanzania, the Makonde. Mtwara is ...

in the southern coastal

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. Newala Town is in the south central portion of the Mtwara Region, on the northern bank of the

Ruvuma River Ruvuma River, formerly also known as the Rovuma River, is a river in the African Great Lakes region. During the greater part of its course, it forms the border between Tanzania and Mozambique (in Mozambique known as ''Rio Rovuma''). The river is ...

that is the border between Tanzania and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The district was established on the 25th of September, 2015.

Geography

Newala Town is in middle of the Mtwara Region with the Newala District's wards of Nakahako and Chitekete to the north, Tandahimba District to the East, the nation of Mozambique across the Ruvuma River to the south, and the

Masasi District Masasi is one of the six districts of the Mtwara Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the north by the Lindi Region, to the east by the Newala, Newala District, to the south by the Ruvuma River and Mozambique and to the west by Nanyumbu District ...

to the west. As with the region, the district is on the

Makonde Plateau The Makonde Plateau, also known as the Newala Plateau, is a plateau in southeastern Tanzania. It is mostly within Mtwara Region, with the northeast corner in Lindi Region. The Makonde Plateau is a roughly rectangular, rising from the coast west ...

that is mostly of altitude up to . The town council covers an area of . God's Gorge, ''Shimo la Mungu'' in kiswahili, is a large gorge in the town of Newala itself. Occasionally, God's Gorge will release clouds steam that covers the town and surrounding areas.

Climate

Newala has a steppe climate with annual precipitation of . The wet seasons is from December to April, and dry season between June and September. June is the warmest month with an average temperater of and November being the coolest month with an average temperature of .

Administrative areas

In 2022 the district administers 2 divisions, 16 wards, 48 villages, 11 suburbs, and 189 hamlets. Divisions and Wards (2016 population) * Newala (60,721) ** Julia (3,434) ** Luchingu (12,920) ** Mahumbika (3,578) ** Makonga (8,288) ** Makote (5,931) ** Mkulung'ulu (2,710) ** Mnekachi (6,438) ** Mtonya (272) ** Namiyonga (3,974) ** Nangwala (8,860) ** Tulindane (4,316) * Mkunya (33,007) ** Nanguruwe (7,785) ** Mkunya (6,682) ** Mcholi I (6,796) ** Mcholi II (6,303) ** Mtumachi (5,441)

Demographics

In 2016 the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics report there were 93,728 people in the town council, from 89,251 in 2012. Almost all of the population of the district is of the Makonde tribe with some

Makua Makua may refer to: * Makua (person), an alaafin of the Oyo Empire * Makua people, an ethnic group in Mozambique and Tanzania * Makhuwa language, a Bantu language spoken in Mozambique * Makua languages, a branch of Bantu languages * Makua Rothman ...

and Yao.

Economy

The economy is almost entirely farming, particularly cashewnuts. The district has 43,126 hectors of arable land, of which 1,820 can be irrigated. Cashewnuts are the primary cash crop as the as they make up much of the native trees in the district. Other crops are groundnuts, cassava, millet, paddy, beans, maize and potatoes. Also grown are tomatoes, mangoes and oranges. The Tandahimba and Newala Cooperative Union (Tanecu) is the primary union in Newala Town, and the unions main auction is located in the town. The production of cashews has grown rapidly in Tanzania, and much of that is in Newala Town. In 2019 the town had industrial capacity of 8,500 t/y for cashewnuts. The implementation of irrigation schemes, industrial sprayers, pesticides, and sulphur powder has grown production in the country from 5,000 tonnes in 2013 to 13,500 tonnes in 2022. For raw cashews from 2013 to 2022 it has increased from 127,947 to 238,576 tonnes. The national government has set the goal of 700,000 tonnes in the year 2025.

Education

The district has 45 public and 5 private primary schools with a 30% drop out rate in 2018. There are 11 secondary schools in the district. Nine are for forms 1 to 4 and two are forms 1 to 6. In 2018 there was a 44% drop out rate in secondary schools and signifcatly more girls in the schools than boys at 2,491 girls to 1,855 boys.

Health

The town district has one hospital, 14 dispensaries, not health centres, and one private health facility. The main disease problem in the Newala Town is Malaria with 25,602 cases, accounting for 53% off all disease cases in the district. Clean drinking water is not easily available. In 2018 57% of the population had access to safe, clean, and affordable water.

Roads

Most of the roads in the district are unpaved. Of the of road, (74%), is dirt, (23%), is gravel, and (3%), is paved.

References

{{Authority control Mtwara Region Districts of Mtwara Region Constituencies of Tanzania