Koës is a village in the

ǁKaras Region The ǁKharas Region (pronounced , with a lateral click, former name Karas Region, without the click) is the southernmost, largest, and least densely populated of the 14 regions of Namibia; its capital is Keetmanshoop. The name assigned to the r ...

of south-eastern

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 ...

. It had 2,264 inhabitants in 2023.

Geography

Koës is situated on the edge of the

Kalahari Desert The Kalahari Desert is a large semiarid climate, semiarid sandy savanna in Southern Africa covering including much of Botswana as well as parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African ...

and belongs to the

Keetmanshoop Rural Keetmanshoop Rural is an electoral constituency in the ǁKaras Region of Namibia. It covers an area of and contains the Krönlein suburb of Keetmanshoop and the villages of Koës and Aroab, the settlements of Seeheim and Klein Karas, as well ...

electoral constituency. The average annual rainfall is about 150-200 mm.

Economy and infrastructure

The vast majority of income in the district is generated on ranches in the surrounding area and stem from sheep, goat and cattle ranching for meat production purposes. The most common sheep breed farmed here, is the

Dorper The Dorper is a South African breed of domestic sheep developed by crossing Dorset Horn and the Blackhead Persian sheep. The breed was created through the efforts of the South African Department of Agriculture to breed a meat sheep suitable to ...

, with Persian, Damara, Van Rooy, Karakul and others to a lesser extent. Popular cattle breeds for this area are

Nguni Nguni may refer to: *Nguni languages *Nguni cattle *Nguni people *Nguni sheep, which divide into the Tsonga sheep, Tsonga, Ngoni (sheep), Ngoni, and Swazi sheep, Swazi types *Nguni stick-fighting * Nguni shield * Nguni homestead *Nguni (surname: Hl ...

, Bonsmara,

Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' (; IAST: ''Brahman'') connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality of the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII In the ...

and various others to a lesser extent. Various sheep, cattle and goat stud breeders are registered in the area. During the months of May - Aug (winter) meat hunting takes place on a large scale. Huntable species are

Oryx ''Oryx'' ( ) is a genus consisting of four large antelope species called oryxes. Their pelage is pale with contrasting dark markings in the face and on the legs, and their long horns are almost straight and annulated. The exception is the sci ...

(gemsbok),

Springbok The springbok or springbuck (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first Species description, described by the Germa ...

and

Kudu The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'': * Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa * Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa The two species look similar, th ...

. To a lesser extent, trophy hunting is also available. Koës has a government primary school. There is also a post office, police station, village council, hotel, library, farmer's cooperative, general dealer and coffee shop. The annual Koës Pan Rally is a DIY motorsports event that originated in 1985, held in the first week of July.

Politics

Koës is governed by a village council that has five seats. The 2015 local authority election was won by the

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 ...

party which gained three seats (336 votes). One seat each went to the

Democratic Turnhalle Alliance The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), formerly Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), is an amalgamation of political parties in Namibia, registered as one singular party for representation purposes. In coalition with the United Democratic Front ...

(DTA, 105 votes) and the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP, 57 votes). In the 2020 local authority election "serious procedural errors" were discovered for the Koës village council. Some voters had been handed ballot papers meant for

Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It is named after , a German Empire, German industrialist and benefactor of the city. Keetmanshoop had a population of 27,862 people in 2023. History Before the colonial era, ...

. No initial result were announced, and the electoral court ordered a re-run. The re-run was conducted on 26 February 2021 and won by the newly formed

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). LPM gained 376 votes and three seats in the village council, followed by SWAPO with two seats (274 votes).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koes Villages in Namibia Populated places in the ǁKaras Region