Matsiloje is a village in the North East District of

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

on the west bank of the Ramokgwebana River, which forms the border with

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. A tarmac road connects the village to

Francistown Francistown is the second-largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 inhabitants and 147,122 inhabitants in its agglomeration at the 2022 census. It is located in eastern Botswana, about north-northeast from the capital, Gabo ...

, to the east. The village has a junior secondary school. The village lies beside the Matsiloje hills, which are quarried for limestone used in manufacturing cement and soapstone products. The exploratory Muphanephane gold mine is in the Matsiloje area. In 2002 there was an outbreak of

foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious disease, infectious and sometimes fatal virus (biology), viral disease that primarily affects even-toed ungulates, including domestic and wild Bovidae, bovids. The vir ...

in the Matsiloje and Matshelagabedi areas, with another outbreak in the Matopi and Tseteng areas towards the end of the year. 12,000 cattle were killed in Matsiloje/Matshelagabedi and 4000 cattle in Matopi/Tseteng. The government compensated farmers with cash and animals, and instituted a relief work program. The village is affected by illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe, and resulting crime. Before construction of the

Dikgatlhong Dam The Dikgatlhong Dam is a dam near the village of Robelela on the Shashe River in Botswana, completed in December 2011. When full, it holds of water. The next largest dam in Botswana, the Gaborone Dam, has a capacity of . Purpose The dam is ...

began to the south of Matsiloje in 2008, the government arranged for counselling services on AIDS to residents of Matsiloje as well as of the

Mmadinare Mmadinare is a village in the Central District of Botswana, 15 kilometers from Selibe Phikwe. The village is slowly growing into a town, with a population estimate of about 13 000 (2004 census) people of different tribes including Bangwato, Bat ...

, Robelela, Matopi, Chokwe and Patayamatebele villages. Preparations were made for additional demands for health and policing services.

References

Citations Sources * * Villages in Botswana Populated places in the Central District (Botswana) {{botswana-geo-stub