Massingir (District)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Massingir District
Location of the Massingir district in Mozambique
Location of the Massingir district in Mozambique
Basic data
Country Mozambique
province Gaza
surface 5681 km²
Residents 32,669 (2013)
density 5.8 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2 MZ-G

Coordinates: 23 ° 55 ′  S , 32 ° 9 ′  E

Massingir is a district in the province of Gaza in Mozambique with the administrative seat in the city of Massingir . The district borders in the north on the district Chicualacuala , in the west on the Republic of South Africa , in the south on the district Magude (in the province of Maputo ) and in the east on the districts Mabalane and Chokwé .

geography

Massingir (satellite photo) with the Massingir reservoir

With an area of ​​5,681 square kilometers, Massingir has 32,669 inhabitants (as of 2013). This gives a population density of 5.8 people per square kilometer.

The climate is dry to semi-arid with precipitation averaging 600 millimeters per year and an average temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. The warm season from September to February is characterized by heavy rainfall, which also leads to flooding in the plains. In the cooler season from March to August there is hardly any precipitation and droughts occur.

The main river is the Rio dos Elefantes , which has its source in the Republic of South Africa (there it is called Lepelle ) and flows into the Limpopo . The only other permanently flowing river is the Mazimulhpe . There are also ten lakes in the district.

The soils away from the rivers are rather sandy, which together with the irregular rainfall exacerbates the droughts.

history

In 1498 the colonial administration was established and this appointed the local chief Massingir Ngovene as its representative. This is how the name came about for the region, which soon became an administrative post and a district in 1972 when the Massingir Dam was built.

population

The population is very young, 18 percent are younger than four years, 27 percent are between five and fourteen years old (as of 2013). Of those over five, only six percent have completed school. The illiteracy rate is high, especially among older women (as of 2007):

The most common mother tongue is Tsonga , only 20 percent of the population over the age of five speaks Portuguese.

Facilities and services

In 2013 there are 54 elementary schools ( Primárias) and four secondary schools (Secundárias) in the district. Of the primary schools, 31 are public schools and 23 are private schools, and of the secondary schools, all four are public.

There are three health centers and five ambulances in Massingir.

Administrative division

The Massingir district is divided into three administrative posts ( postos administrativos ):

Economy and Infrastructure

In 2007, 44 percent of households had a radio and 7 percent a television, 33 percent owned a bicycle and 4 percent a car.

Agriculture

In 2010 there were 4,066 farms raising livestock and 3,746 growing staple foods. More than half of the acreage is family-owned and around a third is owned by the district authorities. The private holdings are mostly small, many of them less than half a hectare in size, and are managed by three or more family members. More than half of them are women and 30 percent are children under ten years of age. The main crops are corn, cassava , beans, peanuts and sweet potatoes.

There are also a large number of fruit and cashew trees on the farms .

Many farmers secure an additional income through the sale of wood, firewood, reeds and charcoal, as well as from fishing.

Massingir Dam

dam

The Massingir Dam is an earthfill dam with a length of five kilometers and a maximum height of 47 meters. The reservoir has an area of ​​138 square kilometers. The structure was erected between 1971 and 1977. In 2008, part of the system was destroyed by an operator error, but it was restored in 2017. It is used to irrigate the agricultural areas and to supply water to 16,700 people in Massingir.

Natural resources

The district owns building sand and gravel as mineral resources.

traffic

  • Road: The main road link is the national road that connects the district with Chókwè, the region's most important economic center. It is paved and in good condition.
place km Type
Chokwe - Massingir 130 National road
Massingir - Macandazulo 125 unclassified
Massingir - Velho 39 unclassified
Massingir - Txaque 75 unclassified
Massingir - Macaringue 95 unclassified
Massingir - Border 42 unclassified
  • Railway: There is no railway line in Massingir

National park

The Massingir district is part of the Limpopo National Park . This park with a total area of ​​35,000 square kilometers was established in 2002 on the national territories of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The portion of Massingir is 2,100 square kilometers, it covers more than a third of the area of ​​the district.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Estatísticas do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2013, p. 10 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).
  2. ^ Ministry of State Administration, Perfil do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2005, pp. 2–3 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).
  3. ^ Ministry of State Administration, Perfil do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2005, pp. 6–7 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).
  4. ^ Estatísticas do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2013, p. 11 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).
  5. ^ Ministry of State Administration, Perfil do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2005, p. 25 , accessed on September 9, 2019 (Portuguese).
  6. ^ Estatísticas do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2013, p. 18 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).
  7. ^ Ministry of State Administration, Perfil do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2005, p. 9 , accessed on September 9, 2019 (Portuguese).
  8. ^ Estatísticas do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2013, p. 19 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).
  9. ^ Estatísticas do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2013, p. 24 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).
  10. ^ Ministry of State Administration, Perfil do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2005, p. 12 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).
  11. ^ Estatísticas do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2013, p. 14 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).
  12. ^ Estatísticas do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2013, p. 26 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).
  13. ^ Ministry of State Administration, Perfil do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2005, pp. 21-23 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).
  14. ↑ DamWorld, monitoring the behavior of Massingir dam in Mozambique. (pdf) October 2012, accessed on September 9, 2019 .
  15. ↑ AllAfrica, Mozambique: Nyusi Inaugurates Water System in Massingir. April 4, 2018, accessed September 8, 2019 .
  16. ^ Estatísticas do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2013, p. 10 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).
  17. ^ Ministry of State Administration, Perfil do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2005, p. 99 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).
  18. ^ Ministry of State Administration, Perfil do Distrito de Massingir. (pdf) 2005, p. 40 , accessed on September 8, 2019 (Portuguese).