Gaborone

Gaborone
Gaborone skyline
Gaborone Location of Gaborone in Botswana
Coordinates: 24°39′29″S 25°54′44″E / 24.65806°S 25.91222°E / -24.65806; 25.91222Coordinates: 24°39′29″S 25°54′44″E / 24.65806°S 25.91222°E / -24.65806; 25.91222
Country	Botswana
District	South-East
Elevation	980 m (3,215 ft)
Population (1 January 2005)
- Total	208,411
Time zone	South African Standard Time (UTCGMT+2)

Gaborone (pronunciation: /ˌxabəˈroʊne/) estimated population 208,411 (1 January 2005), is the capital and largest city of Botswana. Gaborone lies in the flat valley between Kgale and Oodi Hills, on the Notwane River in the south eastern corner of Botswana, and 15 kilometers (9 mi) from the South African border. It is the administrative capital of the South-East district. Locals often refer to the city as "Gabs."

History

Before 1969, the city was known as Gaberones [1]. Gaberones replaced Mafeking as the capital of the Bechuanaland Protectorate in 1965. Mafeking (now Mafikeng) was outside the Bechuanaland Protectorate, in what is now the North West Province of South Africa, an odd arrangement that dated from the early colonial period. When the Protectorate became independent, Botswana needed a capital city within its territory; earlier it had been thought Lobatse might serve as capital but it was decided that it would be too limited, and instead a new capital city would be created adjacent to Gaberones, a small colonial administrative settlement.

Rhodesia Railways car at the national museum

The original name, Gaberones, is from Gaborone's Village, following the early practice of referring to African tribal capitals by the name of the chief, in this case Chief Kgosi Gaborone of the BaTlokwa, whose village, now called Tlokweng, was just across a river from the "Government Camp" (colonial government headquarters). A nickname for Gaborone is 'GC' or Gabz is often used in casual speech.

The centre of the city was constructed in three years, including Assembly buildings, government offices, a power station, a hospital, schools, a radio station, a telephone exchange, police stations, a post office, and more than 1,000 houses. The basic infrastructure was in place for Independence Day on 30 September 1966, when Bechuanaland was the eleventh British dependency in Africa to become independent. The first mayor of Gaborone was Reverend J. D. Jones, whose town council led the planning and development of the town in preparation for Independence day. The old Gaberones became a suburb of the new Gaborone, and is now known as "the Village".

Infrastructure

Aerial view of the city looking east - downtown is in the right-center of the image, with the reservoir just beyond

Gaborone's whirlwind transformation from village to city makes it one of the fastest growing cities in Africa. [2] Since most of the large buildings are relatively new, the entire downtown area tends towards modernism, built generally with a mix of glass, steel and bricks. The modernist city is surrounded by lower-rise development that has not been subject to the same planning as the city's centre. Interestingly, the city's central business district (CBD) is still under construction so when one says 'downtown', they actually mean the Mall and Government Enclave areas where tall buildings are usually found.

The city is surrounded by villages: Ramotswa to the south east, Mogoditshane to the north west, and Mochudi to the east and Tlokweng. Suburbs in Gaborone include Broadhurst, Gaborone West, The Village, and Naledi. Phakalane, an affluent suburb, lies outside the city's boundaries. It was originally planned as a relatively small town, and its rapid development has necessitated construction of a larger city dam to provide an adequate water supply. Currently, there are about 130 newly constructed houses in Block 7, north of the city in a joint venture between BHC, a parastatal and Chinese owned companies, with further development in the northeastern parts of the city, along the A1 highway.

The new city has a relatively good water supply from the reservoir on the southeast side of the city, which has facilitated growth.

Transportation

Sir Seretse Khama International Airport

The railway that served the founding purpose of the city remains important, bisecting the city in a north-south direction. Sir Seretse Khama International Airport lies several kilometers north of the city and connects with Johannesburg, Cape Town, Harare, Francistown, Kasane, and Maun.

Public transport in the city is generally reliable, when compared with major African cities. 'Kombis' and taxis ply the routes within the city while buses serve surrounding villages and other towns in Botswana.

Gaborone has no freeways, but has an extensive network of four-lane streets, with intersections primarily controlled by roundabouts. The most important of these is the Western Bypass, which once passed the western edge of the city, but has now been swallowed up by further development, making it instead a busy suburban highway.

Economy

Debswana offices in downtown Gaborone

Gaborone is the center of the national economy. The headquarters of important financial institutions are located downtown, as well as the headquarters for Debswana, the joint diamond mining venture between De Beers and the Botswana government. There is no heavy industry in Gaborone, with motor vehicle assembly plants owned by Hyundai and Volvo having closed due to viability problems. Gaborone's industrial areas are found along the railway line, notably in Broadhurst, Gaborone West and in Phase 4. Kgalagadi (Coca-Cola) beverages owns a bottling factory in Broadhurst.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has its headquarters in Gaborone; the organization was formed in 1980 to increase economic cooperation among its members and reduce dependence on South Africa.

Education

Environmental Science Building at the University of Botswana

Gaborone has many primary and secondary schools, both public and private. The main campus of the University of Botswana is in the city.

Malls

The Main Mall, a pedestrian-only street in downtown Gaborone

• Main Mall
• Broadhurst/BBS Mall
• Riverwalk
• Game City
• Molapo Crossing
• Westgate Mall
• Mowana Shopping Center (Phakalane)
• Square Mall

Government

Entrance to the Botswana Parliament building in Gaborone

Gaborone is the political center of Botswana. The national parliament building is located downtown, as well as many important governmental buildings such as the Ministry of Health.

Mayors

• J. D. Jones
• Serara T. Ketlogetswe
• Botsalo Bagwasi
• Nelson Ramaotwana
• Paul Rantao

Climate

Situated near the edge of the Kalahari Desert, Gaborone has a dry climate with occasional thunderstorms in the summer rainy season of November to March. Very little rain falls in the May to August winter period which is prone to duststorms. The annual rainfall is 526 mm which supports a natural vegetation of scattered trees. The climate is subtropical with hot summers and very cold nights in winter (average minimum 2^oC).

Weather averages for Gaborone
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Average high °C (°F)	32.2 (90)	31.3 (88)	29.7 (85)	28.1 (83)	24.7 (76)	22.4 (72)	22.1 (72)	24.8 (77)	28.6 (83)	31.5 (89)	31.8 (89)	32.5 (91)
Average low °C (°F)	17.9 (64)	17.6 (64)	15.3 (60)	10.9 (52)	5.4 (42)	2.1 (36)	1.3 (34)	3.9 (39)	9.1 (48)	14.3 (58)	16.1 (61)	17.2 (63)
Precipitation mm (inches)	84.7 (3.33)	85.3 (3.36)	56.8 (2.24)	19.4 (0.76)	13.6 (0.54)	4.4 (0.17)	8.3 (0.33)	7.5 (0.3)	11.8 (0.46)	18.1 (0.71)	41.5 (1.63)	72.9 (2.87)
Source: www.worldclimate.com

Street scene near the Main Mall

Modern buildings in Gaborone

A postage stamp used at Gaborone in 1943, the postmark reading "Gaborone's Village"

Rev J. D. Jones, the first mayor of Gaborone

References

• Bruce Bennett, "A note on place names, historical terms, etc.", [3]

External links

• Gaborone - Botswana Tourism Board
• Map