Kavango (before 1998: Okavango) was one of the thirteen

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 Constituencies of Namibia, 121 constituencies. Upon Independence of Namibia, Namibian independence, th ...

until it was split into the

Kavango East Kavango East is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Rundu, its governor is Bonifatius Wakudumo. The region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango West. The only self-governing sett ...

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 We ...

Regions in 2013. Its capital was

Rundu Rundu is the capital and the 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 ...

. In the north, Kavango bordered the

Cuando Cubango Cuando Cubango (Umbundu: Kwando Kubango Volupale) was a former province of Angola. It was divided into the provinces of Cuando and Cubango in 2024. Cuando Cubango had an area of 199,049km2 and a population of 534,002 in 2014. Menongue was the ...

Province of

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, and in the southeast the

North-West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

District of Botswana. Domestically, it bordered the following regions: *

Zambezi The Zambezi (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 half of t ...

– 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. Geo ...

– south *

Oshikoto Oshikoto is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, named after Lake Otjikoto. Its capital is Omuthiya. Further major settlements in the region are Tsumeb, Otjikoto's capital until 2008, and Oniipa. , Oshikoto had 112,170 registered voters. Ge ...

– west *

Ohangwena 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 as well as the self-governed village of Okongo and the proclaimed settlements Ongha, Ongenga an ...

– northwest Because of its rather higher rainfall than most other parts of Namibia, this region had agricultural potential for the cultivation of a variety of crops, as well as for organised forestry and agro-forestry, which stimulated furniture making and related industries. Khaudum National Park and Mahango Game Park were located in the region.

Constituencies

Kavango comprised nine

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

: * Kahenge * Kapako * Mashare * Mpungu * Mukwe. * Ndiyona *

Rundu Rural East Rundu Rural (until 2013 Rundu Rural East) is an electoral constituency in the Kavango East Region of Namibia. It comprises the area east of Rundu, one of Namibia's largest cities. It had a population of 22,538 in 2011, up from 18,250 in 2001. th ...

Rundu Rural West Ncuncuni (until 2013: Rundu Rural West) is a constituency in the Kavango West region of Namibia. It is located west of Rundu, one of Namibia's largest cities. It had a population of 38,281 in 2011, up from 26,623 in 2001. the constituency had 4,5 ...

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, Ka ...

Regional elections

Electorally, Kavango was consistently dominated by the

South West Africa People's Organization 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 ...

(SWAPO). In the 2004 regional election for the

National Assembly of Namibia The National Assembly is the lower chamber of Namibia's bicameral Parliament. Its laws must be approved by the National Council, the upper house. Since 2014, it has a total of 104 members. 96 members are directly elected through a system of cl ...

, SWAPO won all constituencies by a large margin.

Governors

Ambrosius Haingura Ambrosius Hamutenya Haingura (30 June 1957 – 21 September 2000) was a Namibian activist and politician. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), he was an internal activist during the Namibian War of Independence. Followin ...

, a prominent

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 ...

organizer during the

Namibian War of Independence The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angol ...

, served as the region's first regional governor from 1993 to 1995. Maurus Nekaro, the governor of the Kavango Region from December 2010, died in office on March 4, 2013. Samuel Mbambo was appointed as Kavango's last governor in April 2013.

Dissolution

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

administrative divisions Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

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

Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1935) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 Namibian presidential election, 2004 presidential election overwhelming ...

enacted the recommendations. As a result, the new regions of

and

were created.

Population

The region was characterised by an extremely uneven population distribution. The interior is very sparsely inhabited, while the northernmost strip, especially along the

Kavango River The Okavango River (formerly spelt Okovango or Okovanggo), is a river in southwest Africa. It is known by this name in Botswana, and as Cubango in Angola, and Kavango in Namibia. It is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa, runni ...

, has a high population concentration. Largest urban settlements were the capital

and the towns of

Nkurenkuru Nkurenkuru (1.093 m above sea level) is a town on the south-western banks of the Kavango River. It is the capital of the Kavango West Region of northern Namibia, located west of Rundu. It is also a former mission station of the Finnish Missio ...

and

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 of Namibia, east of Rundu. Divundu has a population of around 5,430 inhabitants and is the homestead of the local Hambuku ...

Economy and infrastructure

Kavango was the region with the highest poverty level in Namibia, more than 50% of the population were classified as poor. According to the 2012 Namibia Labour Force Survey, unemployment in the Kavango Region was 29.8% at the time. Economic activities included farming and tourism. Subsistence fishing also played a role in the nutrition of the people residing near the Kavango River. Kavango had 323 schools with a total of 77,314 pupils.

Transport

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

Grootfontein Grootfontein (, named after the nearby hot springs) is a city with 26,839 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of central Namibia. It is one of the three towns in the Otavi Triangle, situated on the B8 road (Namibia), B8 national road that lead ...

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 is under construction.

References

External links

Kavango Regional Council
{{Constituencies of the Kavango Region Regions of Namibia States and territories established in 1992 1992 establishments in Namibia States and territories disestablished in 2013 2013 disestablishments in Namibia