is a mining town in the

Erongo Region Erongo is one of the 14 regions of Namibia. The capital is Swakopmund. It is named after Mount Erongo, a well-known landmark in Namibia and in this area. Erongo contains the municipalities of Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Henties Bay and Omaruru, as ...

of western central

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. The town has 5,726 inhabitants. Originally a camp for workers of the nearby Rössing uranium mine, Arandis was declared a town in 1994.

Economy and infrastructure

Arandis has been called the ''Uranium Capital of the World'' as it is located just 15 km outside the world's largest open-pit uranium mine, the Rössing uranium mine. It also serves the Husab and Trekkopje uranium mines. Economic conditions in town have thus always been dependent on the worlds market price of uranium. Uranium mining operations, in particular during the Rössing mine's early years, have led to allegations of occupational health violations and radiation-related illnesses. A 1993 report from a medical student was dismissed both by the mine and the authorities, further independent research has never been conducted. The 2000s saw a resurgence in economic growth in Arandis. With the global energy crisis, a significant rise in demand occurred for nuclear energy, increasing demand for Arandis' uranium. Banks, which had previously closed and youth who had previously left the town seeking employment elsewhere, returned. In 2008, negotiations were at an advanced stage for a Chinese company, ''Namibia Industrial Mining Limited'', to build a factory for making building materials in Arandis. After an investment conference was held in 2011, investors decided to erect a shopping mall in town. Construction of the mall started soon afterwards, the anticipated completion date is May 2013.

Transportation

Arandis is situated on the B2 national road that connects the central Atlantic coast to

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

. The Arandis Railway Station is a

crossing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...

on the Trans-Namib Railway between

Swakopmund Swakopmund ("Mouth of the Swakop River, Swakop") is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 road (Namibia), B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo Region, Erongo administrative district. It ...

and

Usakos Usakos (, ) is a town on the banks of river Khan River, Khan, 140 kilometres north-east of Swakopmund in the Erongo Region of Namibia. It is located on the B2 road (Namibia), B2 (part of the Trans-Kalahari Corridor), the main road between the ...

. Arandis Airport is also nearby.

History

Established for the workers of Rössing Uranium in 1978, Arandis was granted self-administration and town status in 1994. Arandis owns of land and had 7,600 inhabitants, most of whom were somehow connected to the mine.

Demographics

Politics

Arandis is governed by a town council that has seven seats. In the 2004 local authority elections

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

won the town council election with 753 votes and gained four seats. Two seats and 295 votes were obtained by the United Democratic Front (UDF), and one seat (139 votes) went to the

Congress of Democrats The Congress of Democrats (CoD) is a Namibian opposition party without representation in the National Assembly and was led by Ben Ulenga from 2004 to 2015. It was established in 1999, prior to that year's general elections, and started off w ...

(CoD). SWAPO also won the 2010 local authority elections. It received 664 votes. The UDF finished in second place with 243 votes, and the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), an opposition party founded in 2007, received 72 votes. In the 2015 local authority elections SWAPO won again, gaining 5 seats (780 votes). The remaining 2 seats went to the UDF (295 votes). SWAPO also won the 2020 local authority election but for the first time failed to gain the majority of seats in the town council. SWAPO obtained 551 votes and gained three seats. Runner-up Independent Patriots for Change (IPC, newly formed in August 2020) gained two seats (405 votes), and UDF and

Landless People's Movement The Landless People's Movement is an independent social movement in South Africa. It consisted of rural people and people living in shack settlements in cities. The Landless People's Movement boycotted parliamentary elections and had a history ...

(LPM) gained one seat each with 230 and 140 votes, respectively. Benitha Imbamba is currently serving as the Arandis Constituency.

Education

In 1991, the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT), a technical institute focusing on training skilled industrial workers, was established. Kolin Foundation Secondary School and U.B. Dax Primary School are situated in town.

External links

References

{{Authority control Populated places in the Erongo Region Towns in Namibia Mining in Namibia Populated places established in 1978 1978 establishments in South West Africa