- Sesheke
Sesheke is a border town in the Western Province of
Zambia , and a district of the same name. It lies on the northern bank of theZambezi River which forms the border with Namibia'sCaprivi Strip at that point.The
Katima Mulilo Bridge , completed inMay 2004 , spans the river here, connecting Sesheke with the Namibian town ofKatima Mulilo . The paved road from Sesheke toLivingstone and theVictoria Falls 200 km east has been upgraded in 2004. The new bridge and road were financed by German donor bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau and were the last missing link in the so-called "Trans Caprivi Corridor". This 2500 km long asphalt road now connects Zambia's Copperbelt with Namibia's sea port Walvis Bay. As a direct result, the amount of road freight traffic has greatly increased. An investment and construction boom is rapidly transforming both Sesheke and Katima Mulilo, as well as surrounding areas.Improved road access and the construction of new lodges and other tourist facilities have also increased the number of tourists passing through Sesheke on their way to the
Victoria Falls , to theSioma Ngwezi National Park 50 km west of the town, or to the upper Zambezi and the Barotse Floodplain.The recent boom has also increased rural-urban migration, the growth of squatter camps near Sesheke and Katima Mulilo, cross-border smuggling and related social problems on both sides of the Zambian-Namibian border. Both Sesheke District and the Caprivi Region are at the bottom end of socio-economic development in their respective countries.
A main highway, unpaved and therefore in poor condition (extremely poor during the rainy season, November to April), runs alongside the Zambezi connecting Sesheke to
Senanga andMongu upriver. The road runs on the south bank of the river upstream from Sesheke. Zambian traffic must cross the bridge but does not have to enter Namibia, as the bridge is entirely located on Zambian territory.
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