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 Mozam ...
. Alongside marula trees, wild plum trees (Ntungulu in tjiKalanga) grow abundantly in area. The town was once called ''Getjenge'' by
baKalanga
The Kalanga or Bakalanga are a southern Bantu ethnic group mainly inhabiting Matebeleland in Zimbabwe, northeastern Botswana and Limpopo Province in South Africa. They are historically related to the Nambya, Karanga, Bapedi and Venda.
Curre ...
. Another name which is mainly used is ''Titji,'' meaning station and referring to the railway station which was operating in the area around 1897.
Location
The town is located in
Bulilimamangwe District
Bulilimamangwe District is a district in Zimbabwe.
Location
The district is located in Matabeleland South Province, in southwestern Zimbabwe, close to the international border with Botswana. Its main town, Plumtree, is located about , by road, ...
, in the
Matabeleland South Province
Matabeleland South is a province in southwestern Zimbabwe. With a population of 683,893 as of the 2012 Zimbabwean census, it is the country's least populous province. After Matabeleland North, it is Zimbabwe's second-least densely populated p ...
, in southwestern Zimbabwe, at the international border with
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 ...
. It is located about , by road, southwest of
Bulawayo
Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...
, the nearest large city. Plumtree sits on the main road between Bulawayo in Zimbabwe 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 ...
in Botswana, about , further southwest from Plumtree. The geographical coordinates of Plumtree are:
20°28'41.0"S, 27°47'50.0"E (Latitude:-20.478056; Longitude:27.797222). The border is defined by 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 ...
. The village of
Ramokgwebana
Ramokgwebana is a village in the North-East District (Botswana), North-East District of Botswana, close to the eastern border, which is defined by the Ramokgwebana River. Plumtree, Zimbabwe is on the other side of the border crossing.
The village ...
is opposite Plumtree on the Botswana side. Plumtree lies at an average elevation of above
mean sea level
There are several kinds of mean in mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...
.
Overview
It is the local administrative centre for Mangwe District, which is made up of two sub-districts; namely (a) Mangwe Urban (Plumtree) and (b) Mangwe Rural. What was Bulilima West, is now Bulilima District. (se Map of the Districts of Matabeleland South Provinve
At an altitude of , above sea level, the town sits on the watershed between the
Limpopo River
The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountaino ...
basin to the south and the Zambezi River basin to the north. The
Tati River
The Tati River is a river in northeast Botswana, a tributary of the Shashe River, which in turn is a tributary of the Limpopo River.
The river flows through Francistown
Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of ...
rises near Plumtree, running west and then south into the
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
in Plumtree. There are several elementary and secondary schools in the town. Radio and television reception from within Zimbabwe is weak in this neighborhood. Residents in Plumtree and neighboring communities rely on reception from neighboring Botswana and South Africa for news and general information.
Population
There are two main languages spoken in Plumtree; (a) tjiKalanga and (b) isiNdebele. Other languages spoken to a lesser extent include
seTswana
Tswana, also known by its native name , and previously spelled Sechuana in English, is a Bantu language spoken in Southern Africa by about 8.2 million people. It belongs to the Bantu language family within the Sotho-Tswana branch of Zon ...
, used near the
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 ...
border. In 2004, the population of the town was estimated at 2,184. The 2012 national population census enumerated the population of Plumtree, Zimbabwe, at 11,660 inhabitants. Of these, 6,261 (53.7 percent) were females and 5,399 (46.3 percent) were males. They were grouped into 3,273 households with average size of 3.6 family members.
Kalanga people
The Kalanga or Bakalanga are a southern Bantu ethnic group mainly inhabiting Matebeleland in Zimbabwe, northeastern Botswana and Limpopo Province in South Africa. They are historically related to the Nambya, Karanga, Bapedi and Venda.
Current ...
*
Economy of Zimbabwe
The economy of Zimbabwe mainly relies on the tertiary sector of the economy, also known as the service sector of the economy, which makes up to 60% of total GDP as of 2017. Zimbabwe has the second biggest Informal economy in the world as a perc ...
*
Districts of Zimbabwe
The Republic of Zimbabwe is broken down into 10 administrative provinces, which are divided into 59 districts and 1,200 wards.
Bulawayo Province
* Bulawayo
Harare Province
* Harare
Manicaland Province
* Buhera
* Chi ...
*
Provinces of Zimbabwe
Provinces are constituent Polity, political entities of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe currently has ten provinces, two of which are City, cities with provincial status. Zimbabwe is a unitary state, and its provinces exercise only the powers that the centra ...