Ongwediva

Ongwediva
—  Town  —
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): The Valley of the Leopard
Motto: Freedom & Hard work
Ongwediva Location in Namibia
Coordinates: 17°47′S 15°46′E / 17.783°S 15.767°E / -17.783; 15.767
Country	Namibia
Region	Oshana Region
constituency	Ongwediva constituency
Proclaimed	1992
Government[1]
- Mayor	Patricia Kashuupulwa
Population (2010)[2]
- Total	27,000
Time zone	South African Standard Time (UTC+1)
Website	http://www.otc.com.na/

Ongwediva is a town in the Oshana Region in the north of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Ongwediva electoral constituency. As of 2010^[update] it had 27,000 inhabitants and covered 4,102 hectares of land. Ongwediva has seven churches, two private schools and 13 government-run schools. Most of the inhabitants speak Oshiwambo.^[2]

History

The settlement of Ongwediva was established in the 1960s while Namibia was under South African occupation. Its purpose was to serve as a residential area for people employed by businesses and government in Oshakati and Ondangwa. All main educational institutions in the north of Namibia (at that time called the Ovamboland) were situated here.^[3]

Economy and Development

Ongwediva hosts an annual trade fair, the Ongwediva Annual Trade Fair (OATF) since the year 2000, after one initial trade fair, the Northern Namibia Trade Fair, was held in 1995.^[3] A shopping mall is under construction.^[4]

Ongwediva is an urban area that experiences rapid growth. It had less than 11,000 inhabitants in 2001.^[5]

Ongwediva is the second largest entertainment town in Namibia just behind the capital Windhoek. Ongwediva is a fast growing town in terms of development and status as a second most livable town in Namibia, it encompasses a multi-million dollar (Namibian dollars) Bennies Entertainment Park and Lodge which has a lot of fun activities for the kids and grown-ups.

Ongwediva is also a town with it's own hospital: the Ongwediva Medi-Clinic. It has state of the art technologies to cater for the ill and the best staff to do the catering.^[6]

Education

There are currently only two high schools in Ongwediva, Mweshipandeka High School and Gabriel Taapopi SSS. There are also five primary schools. The newly created Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology of the University of Namibia is based in Ongwediva and it started its first official academic year in 2009. There is also an Educational College for teachers.

Notable residents

• Sunny Boy, a hip hop and kwaito musician
• Fresh Family, a group of kwaito musicians and dancers
• Patricia Kashuupulwa, a politician and current Mayor of the town
• Erastus Uutoni, a politician and former Mayor of the town
• Benjamin Hauwanga, a businessman, owner of Bennies Entertainment Park and Lodge and the BH Group of Companies

References

1. ^ "Ongwediva Mayor welcomes visitors". Namibian Sun. 1 September 2010. http://mobi.namibiansun.com/story/ongwediva-mayor-welcomes-visitors. Retrieved 3 February 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Location". Ongwediva Town Coucil. http://www.ongwediva.com.na/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=55&pid=1. Retrieved 30 December 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Historical background". Ongwediva Town Coucil. http://www.ongwediva.com.na/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=61&pid=1. Retrieved 30 December 2010. 
4. ^ Ongwediva gets Shopping Mall The Namibian, 24 November 2008
5. ^ Republic of Namibia 2001 Population and Housing Census (Basic Analysis with Highlights ed.). Windhoek: Central Bureau of Statistics, National Planning Commission. July 2003. p. 21. ISBN 0869766147. 
6. ^ http://www.informante.web.na/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4197&Itemid=108

Coordinates: 17°47′S 15°46′E / 17.783°S 15.767°E / -17.783; 15.767