Otjiwarongo

City

Otjiwarongo main road pictured from the south of the town

Seal

Nickname(s): OTT, OT

Motto: Gradatim

Otjiwarongo

Location in Namibia

Coordinates: 20°27′51″S 16°39′10″E / 20.46417°S 16.65278°ECoordinates: 20°27′51″S 16°39′10″E / 20.46417°S 16.65278°E

Country

Namibia

Region

Otjozondjupa

Government

• Type

Municipal

• Mayor

Hilda Makano Jesaja

Population (2011)^[1]

• Total

28,249

Time zone

South African Standard Time (UTC+1)

Area code(s)

067

Website

www.otjiwarongomun.org

The Central Business District of Otjiwarongo

Otjiwarongo (Otjiherero: pleasant place or place where fat cattle graze) is a city^[2] of 70,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Otjiwarongo electoral constituency and also the capital of Otjozondjupa.

Otjiwarongo is situated in central-north Namibia on the TransNamib railway. It is the biggest business centre for Otjozondjupa Region. Otjiwarongo is located on the B1 road and its links between Windhoek, the Golden Triangle of Otavi, Tsumeb and Grootfontein, and Etosha National Park. It is one of Namibia’s fast-growing towns, with a neat and peaceful quality environment, and many excellent facilities including supermarkets, banks, lodges and hotels. Some of Namibia's best-known private game farms and nature reserves are located in and around the town. Otjibamba Lodge, an afro-colonial style lodge, is situated on the southern side of the town near the Otjiwarongo Golf Course.

Otjiwarongo is one of Namibia's towns with a large population of German-speaking people. German influence is also evident on its Germanic buildings. The school "Donatus School Otjiwarongo" (D.S.O.) was once known as "Deutsche Schule Otjiwarongo".

History

The Herero people were the original settlers of this area, and they called the place Otjiwarongo, meaning "Place Where Fat Cattle Graze". The name is appropriate as Otjiwarongo is home to some of the biggest cattle-breeding companies in Namibia. German Namibians first settled in Otjiwarongo in 1900. A bloody war was fought in the area between the Hereros and the Germans in 1904 where many of the tribes people died. The Hereros were the only African settlers in the town until 1906 when few amount of Ovambo and Damara tribes migrated to the town for settlement. This happened when Otjiwarongo was established as an administration point for the Germans and officially became a town. A narrow-gauge railway was built from Swakopmund on the coast, to the Otavi copper mine which helped Otjiwarongo become a prosperous agricultural centre. The three tribes where separated like in many of Namibia's towns, where each lived in a separate neighborhood: Ovambo Location, Damara Location and Herero Location respectively. The three locations together made up the suburb of Orwetoveni.

Tourism

The main interest for tourists is Otjiwarongo's proximity to the Waterberg Plateau Park. Otjiwarongo is home to the Cheetah Conservation Fund, an internationally recognized organization dedicated to ensuring the long-term survival of the cheetah through research, conservation and education. Also about 50 miles from Otjiwarongo is Okonjima, the home of the Africat Foundation, a cheetah and leopard rehabilitation centre.^[3]

On the edge of town is the Crocodile Ranch, one of the few captive breeding programs for the Nile Crocodile that has been registered with CITES.^[4] Also in town is Locomotive No 41, originally brought from Germany to haul ore between Tsumeb and the port at Swakopmund.

Built 15 km outside of town, the Omatjenne Dam provides artificial recharge of local groundwater.^[5]

Education

The town of Otjiwarongo operates six primary schools, three high schools and junior high schools. There are about eleven schools in Otjiwarongo, five private schools and six public schools. All schools final exams for grade 10 and 12 are regulated by the Ministry of Education. The schools of Otjiwarongo attract more and more non-resident students. Otjiwarongo Secondary School is rated as one of Namibia's best schools, with students reaching overall top number one student for the grade 12 Cambridge examination. Over the years many students have reached the top five. Many of the students who graduate from this school study at Stellenbosch University, University of South Africa, University of Cape Town and the University of Namibia.^[6] The Donatus School Otjiwarongo is also rated as one of the best schools in Namibia.

There are a number of institution for higher education in the town, as well as the MTI and COSDEC vocational training centres and a convent. Polytechnic of Namibia and the University of Namibia had plans to build satellite campuses in the town. The two institutions already have their regional centers in the town where distance students interact with the two institutions respectively.

Public Schools

Karundu Primary School
Orwetoveni Primary School
Rogate Primary School
Spes Bona Primary School
Paresis Secondary School
Vooruit Primary School
Donatus Combined School (formerly Deutsche Schule Otjiwarongo)
tsaraxa aibes combined school

Private Schools

Privatschule Otjiwarongo
Otjiwarongo Christian Primary
Edugate Academy

Public/Private Schools

These are schools that used to have less influence from the government, however still follow government syllabus.

Otjiwarongo Secondary School
Vooruit Primary School

Health facilities

Otjiwarongo State Hospital is the biggest hospital in the town, it is mostly used by the middle and low income residents. A number of private clinics and hospitals are also present in the town, including a branch of MediCity Private Clinic.

Language

About 90% of the town’s residents speaks and understand Afrikaans. About 75% speaks English and 35% German. Other languages includes indigenous languages like Otjiherero, Damara-nama and Oshiwambo.

Sport

Mighty Gunners FC is the town's major football team. Mokati Stadium, the smallest of two stadia in Otjiwarongo, is located in Orwetoveni and it is the main football stadium in town. There are also grounds for basketball, netball, and tennis. The largest, Paresis Park also known as The Show Ground, is located in the upper suburb of the town. It is the towns biggest sport ground and one of the biggest in Namibia. It has two soccer fields and two rugby fields. There is also grounds for hockey, tennis, netball and cricket. The park is also used to hold sport tournaments and business events such as the Otjiwarongo Trade Show.

In 2011, it host the main event of the 21st Independence Celebrations of Namibia.^[7]

Transport and Transport infrastructure

The town connects to the South, Okahandja through to Windhoek, to the North, Otavi through to Ondangwa and Oshakati, to the West, Kalkfeld through to Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, and to the North-West, Outjo through to Opuwo. Taxi is one of the towns main transportation. Some people make use of the municipal bus service to get to work, while others use their private cars. Otjiwarongo is the junction for the branch railway to Outjo.

Otjiwarongo has a well-developed road network as well as an air strip. There are plans to develop an international airport. The trans-caprivi highway also passes through Otjiwarongo. The railway line links other towns: Windhoek, Walvisbay, Tsumeb and Oshikango. On many occasions the Council has budgeted for upgrading roads in the town. Today Otjiwarongo is one of the few towns that has tarred roads even in the townships.

South Otjiwarongo CBD
Christian's church in central Otjiwarongo
German Locomotive No 41 at Otjiwarongo railway station
Aerial photo of Otjiwarongo showing mostly the South and Eastern part of the town
Cheetah Conservation Research Centre in Otjiwarango

Geography

Climate

Otjiwarongo has a semi-arid climate (BSh, according to the Köppen climate classification), with hot summers and mild winters. The average annual precipitation is 457 mm (18 in).

Climate data for Otjiwarongo
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	32 (90)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	27 (81)	24 (75)	24 (75)	27 (81)	31 (88)	32 (90)	33 (91)	34 (93)	29.3 (84.8)
Daily mean °C (°F)	24.5 (76.1)	23.5 (74.3)	22.5 (72.5)	21 (70)	18 (64)	15 (59)	15 (59)	17.5 (63.5)	22 (72)	23 (73)	24.5 (76.1)	25 (77)	20.96 (69.71)
Average low °C (°F)	17 (63)	17 (63)	16 (61)	13 (55)	9 (48)	6 (43)	6 (43)	8 (46)	13 (55)	14 (57)	16 (61)	16 (61)	12.6 (54.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	100 (3.94)	121 (4.76)	80 (3.15)	41 (1.61)	5 (0.2)	0 (0)	0 (0)	1 (0.04)	2 (0.08)	14 (0.55)	39 (1.54)	54 (2.13)	457 (18)
Source: World Climate Guide.^[8]