Sowa (Botswana)
| Sowa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Coordinates | 20 ° 34 ′ S , 26 ° 13 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | Botswana | ||
| Southern District | |||
| ISO 3166-2 | BW-SO | ||
| height | 930 m | ||
| Residents | 3598 (2011) | ||
| founding | 1990 | ||
Sowa is a city within the Central District in Botswana . There is an important soda mine there , which also produces sodium chloride . Sowa is the smallest self-governing city in the country.
geography
In 2011 Sowa had 3598 inhabitants. The city lies within the Central District, but is self-governing. Sowa is administered according to the Sowa Township Regulations . The local parliament consists of seven representatives appointed by the Botswana government and one elected by the residents of the region (as of 2008). sowa means "salt" in the Khoisan language.
The mine is located in the Sua Pan (also Sowa Pan ), the easternmost salt pan of the Makgadikgadi Pans . The area is flat and the climate is arid . Francistown is about 163 kilometers southwest. The closest town is Dukwi, 30 kilometers to the east.
history
The construction of the town of Sowa was decided in 1988 by a law in the Botswana parliament. Until then, only a few drovers lived in the area. The site opened in 1990, followed by the mine in 1991, which was initially operated by a consortium made up of the Botswana government, De Beers , Anglo American and AECI before being taken over by Botswana Ash in 1995 , which is 50 percent owned by the state and 14 percent each three other companies mentioned and eight percent owned by a banking consortium.
Economy and Infrastructure
Around 300,000 tons of soda and 250,000 tons of sodium chloride are mined annually in the salt pan located around 20 kilometers to the west. The mine has around 450 employees. The headquarters of Botswana Ash is located in Sowa. In 2008 no resident was over 65 years old. Real estate cannot be acquired. A protective fence has been drawn around the city, but it is occasionally cut through by drovers so that they can lead their cattle into the city.
The Sua Pan Airport ( IATA code SXN, ICAO code FBSN ) is located between the town in the east and the loading facilities in the west. The asphalt runway is around 1675 meters long. From the loading facilities, a railway line runs south around the town to Francistown. It is only operated in freight transport. The A32 trunk road is the only road that reaches Sowa. It runs eastwards and meets the A3 , which leads from Francistown to Maun , among other places . Soda is also transported away via the A32.
Town twinning
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Karibib (since April 2018)
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2011 census ( memento of the original from November 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English; PDF), accessed on September 29, 2015
- ↑ a b c Zibani Maundeni: Local Democracy in Sowa Township (Workshop 2008) ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed September 30, 2015
- ↑ a b c Portrait at botash.bw ( Memento of the original from January 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed September 29, 2015
- ↑ Data on dismantling at botash.bw ( memento of the original from October 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed September 30, 2015
- ↑ Description of the airport at worldairports.com (English), accessed on July 30, 2015
- ↑ SOWA join forces with Namibian town. The Voice, April 20, 2018.
