Kavango East is one of the fourteen

regions of Namibia Namibia uses regions as its first-level subnational administrative divisions. Since 2013, it has 14 regions which in turn are subdivided into 121 constituencies. Upon Namibian independence, the pre-existing subdivisions from the South African ...

. Its capital is

Rundu Rundu is the capital and largest city of the Kavango-East Region in northern Namibia. It lies on the border with Angola on the banks of the Kavango River about above sea level. Rundu's population is growing rapidly. The 2001 census counted 36,9 ...

, its governor is Bonifatius Wakudumo. The Region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and

Kavango West Kavango West is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital and only self-governed settlement is Nkurenkuru, its governor is Sirkka Ausiku. The Region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango ...

. The only self-governed settlements in Kavango East are the capital Rundu and the village of

Divundu Divundu (1.090 m above sea level) is a village on the south-eastern banks of the Okavango River in the Kavango East Region, Namibia, east of Rundu. Divundu has a population of around 5,430 inhabitants and is homestead of the local Mbukushu king ...

. The region contains the western half of the

Caprivi Strip The Caprivi Strip, also known simply as Caprivi, is a geographic salient protruding from the northeastern corner of Namibia. It is surrounded by Botswana to the south and Angola and Zambia to the north. Namibia, Botswana and Zambia meet at a s ...

. In the north, Kavango East borders the

Cuando Cubango Cuando Cubango (Umbundu: Kwando Kubango Volupale) is a province of Angola and it has an area of 199,049km2 and a population of 534,002 in 2014. Menongue is the capital of the province. The governor of the province is José Martins, who was appoi ...

Province of

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

, and in the south and southeast the North-West District of Botswana. Domestically, it borders the following regions: *

Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than ha ...

– east *

Otjozondjupa Otjozondjupa is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Otjiwarongo. The region further contains the municipalities of Okahandja and Grootfontein and the towns Okakarara and Otavi. , Otjozondjupa had 97,945 registered voters. Geog ...

– southwest *

– west Because of its rather high rainfall compared to most other parts of Namibia and its location on the Kavango River after which it was named, this region has agricultural potential for the cultivation of a variety of crops, as well as for organised forestry and agro-forestry, which stimulates furniture making and related industries. Kavango East and its sister region Kavango West are nevertheless the poorest regions in Namibia.

Politics

The Fourth Delimitation Commission of Namibia, responsible for recommending on the country's

administrative divisions Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

suggested in August 2013 to split the Kavango Region into two. Then-president

Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1936) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 presidential election overwhelmingly as the candidate of SWAPO, and was ...

enacted the recommendations. As a result, two new regions of Kavango East and

were created. As of 2020, Kavango East had 80,450 registered voters.

Administrative division

The region is subdivided into six electoral constituencies: * Mashare * Mukwe * Ndiyona * Ndonga Linena * Rundu Rural *

Rundu Urban Rundu Urban is an electoral constituency in the Kavango East region of Namibia. It covers the urban area of Rundu, the region's capital and one of Namibia's largest cities. The constituency also covers parts of the Sauyemwa, Safari, Tutungeni, Kat ...

In the 2015 regional elections

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

won in all six constituencies and obtained 79% (

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

: 73%) of all votes. In the 2020 regional election SWAPO was still the strongest party but its support dropped to 62% of the popular vote, and it lost Rundu Rural to an

independent candidate An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

Governors

Samuel Mbambo Rev. Samuel Kaveto Mbambo (born in Kavango Region) is a Namibian politician, diplomat, theologian, historian, and academic. He was a governor of the Kavango Region, and after its split into Kavango West and Kavango East, also of these new entities ...

(2013–2020) # Bonifatius Wakudumo (2020–present)

Transport

There is a particular dearth of north-south roads in the Region, apart from the Rundu-

Grootfontein , nickname = , settlement_type = City , motto = Fons Vitæ , image_skyline = Grootfontein grass.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = , image_flag = , flag_si ...

main road. Rundu has a small airstrip to accommodate medium-sized tourist or cargo aircraft in daylight only. The poor condition of the roads and the long distances had a negative effect on tourism; this situation was improved by the completion of the Trans–Caprivi Highway. A major highway connecting Rundu to western Kavango and the

Ohangwena Region Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi aa well as the self-governed village of Okongo. , Ohangwena had 150,724 registered voters. Ohang ...

is under construction.

References

External links

{{Authority control Regions of Namibia States and territories established in 2013 2013 establishments in Namibia