Otavi

Otavi is a town with 10,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. Situated 360km (220mi) north of Windhoek, it is the district capital of the Otavi electoral constituency.

Geography

The towns of Otavi, Tsumeb (to the north) and Grootfontein (to the northeast) define an area known as the "Otavi Triangle", also known as the Otavi Mountainland. This geographical region is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Triangle", or as the "maize Triangle", owing to the cultivation of maize in the area. The three towns that define the triangle are roughly 60km from each other.

Most of the area is dolomitic (Precambrian) and the district was renowned for its mineral wealth in the past. Most of the deposits have now been exhausted. Elefantenberg (elephant mountain), a mountain 1,624 meters above sea level, is located about 7km south of Otavi.

Economy and infrastructure

Due to financial mismanagement, Otavi lost its town status in 2004 and was downgraded to "village". After revenue picked up again, town status was reinstated in November 2010. With the foundation of the Ohorongo Cement factory and the Otjikoto mine, operated by B2Gold, business and employment rate has been recovering. A steel manufacturing plant is also being developed. The project will cost $201 million and it's expected to produce 100,000 tons of steel.

Transport

Otavi is situated on the B1, Namibia's longest national road running the length of the country from Noordoewer to Oshikango. Otavi is a railway junction where the line from Windhoek to Oshikango branches off the line to Grootfontein. The town is served by the Otavi railway station.

History

On July 1, 1915, the German Army was defeated at Otavi by South African troops; on July 9 they surrendered nearby and signed the Khorab Peace Treaty. A public monument to this event was erected in 1973 outside of Otavi.

During the South African Border War SWASpes, the 1 SWA Specialist Unit was based here, moving from Oshivelo in 1979. The unit consisted of horse mounted troops, dog trackers, human trackers and motorcycle units to hunt insurgents.[citation needed]

Politics

Otavi is governed by a town council that currently[update] has seven seats.

The 2015 local authority election was won by SWAPO which gained six seats and 957 votes. The remaining seat went to the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) which gained 79 votes. SWAPO also won the 2020 local authority election. It obtained 1,092 votes and gained five seats. One seat each went to the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC, an opposition party formed in August 2020) and to the Landless People's Movement (LPM, an opposition party formed in 2016) with 260 and 167 votes, respectively.

Education

Otavi main schools include: Shalom Primary School which is one of the largest with over 1000 learners , Otavi Primary School, Khorab Senior Secondary School and the Deutsche Privatschule Otavi-Namibia. Previously the German Regierungsschule Otavi (Government School Otavi) was situated in Otavi.

Otavi has strengthened its educational sector by investments in school infrastructure, vocational training and skills development. Support from the Otjozondjupa Regional Education Directorate and B2Gold has improved facilities and resources at local schools, while Khorab secondary school has expanded vocational and technical education opportunities. Government sponsored computer training programs have also helped increase online skills. The planned relocation of the agricultural satellite campus of Namibia University of Science and Technology to Otavi aims to raise the educational level.

19°39′S 17°20′E/19.650°S 17.333°E/ -19.650; 17.333