Witvlei

Witvlei
ǃUri ǃKhubus
Village

Witvlei AFM church
Witvlei

Location in Namibia

Coordinates: 22°24′59″S 18°29′49″E / 22.41639°S 18.49694°E / -22.41639; 18.49694
Country  Namibia
Region Omaheke Region
Constituency Steinhausen Constituency
Elevation 4,751 ft (1,448 m)
Time zone South African Standard Time (UTC+1)
Climate BSh

Witvlei (Afrikaans: White marsh) is a village in Okarukambe Constituency in the Omaheke Region of central-eastern Namibia. It is situated on the B6 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Windhoek on the way to Gobabis. It is known for producing high quality meat.[1]

History

The original name of the village in Khoekhoegowab (Damara/Nama) is ǃUri ǃKhubus (white fountain).[2]

The settlement was the place of the Battle of Witvlei in the First Herero-Nama War in March 1864. Maharero, with the help of the hunter Frederick Green (known among the Ovaherero as Kerina), led a contingent of 1,400 Ovaherero from Otjimbingwe against the Orlam Afrikaners under Jan Jonker Afrikaner. Afrikaner's forces were defeated and fled, although a number of other battles followed elsewhere.[3][4]

Economy and infrastructure

The Witlvei Street Kids Center was inaugurated in the village in 2001. The regional council donated an empty, un-serviced plot to the project in November 2004, and in December 2005 the center was built with money donated by the Suiderhof Dutch Reformed Church congregation and various individuals and companies. Two pre-fabricated houses were transported from Windhoek all the way to Witvlei.[5]

Witvlei Meat was inaugurated in August 2006 and has grown tremendously since. The abattoir has a slaughter capacity of 27,000 cattle annually and exports meat to Norway.[6]

Politics

Witvlei is governed by a village council that currently has five seats.[7] Witvlei's village councillors are:[8]

People

Most of the inhabitants of Witvlei are of Damara descent, but there are also Ovambo, Herero, people from Kavango, a few Himbas, and many more inhabitants of mixed ethnicity.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Namibian beef soon hits EU market Afrol, Last accessed 28 February 2013
  2. 1 2 Kangueehi, Kuvee (10 March 2005). "Abattoir a Glimpse of Hope Where There is None". New Era.
  3. ↑ Tonchi, Victor L; Lindeke, William Alfred; Grotpeter, John J (2012). Historical Dictionary of Namibia. African historical dictionaries. Scarecrow Press. p. 153. ISBN 9780810853980.
  4. ↑ Shampapi, Shiremo (14 October 2011). "Maharero kaTjamuaha: The Consolidator of the Ovaherero Polity (1820-1890) Part II". New Era.
  5. ↑ "Witvlei street kids center". NG Church Suiderhof. 27 February 2013.
  6. ↑ Schlechter, Deon (27 February 2013). "Witvlei Abattoir". New Era. pp. 11–12.
  7. ↑ "Know Your Local Authority". Election Watch (3). Institute for Public Policy Research. 2015. p. 4.
  8. ↑ Konjore, Romanus (25 February 2013). "Witvlei's woes continue". The Namibian.
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