Solar city called ‘ Kang Botswana’
Kgosi Seipone thinks big on Kang’s development
Kgosi Basadibotlhe Seipone of Kang is a woman on a mission. Her dream is to change the mindset among her subjects by not only uniting them, but mobilising them and the necessary resources to develop their village to make it one of the most attractive in the country in terms of tourism. Seipone is proud of her village that is nicknamed “the solar city”- because its streets are installed with solar power lights that have been strategic in its role as a One Service Stop Centre for commuters plying the Trans- Kalahari Highway, as well as the gateway to Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve ( CKGR) and the Okavango Delta. However, challenges exist. For example, the village’s police station building is dilapidated and officers are way outnumbered by the public. Not only this, the village operates on 24- hour clinic and does not have a hospital. The nearest facilities are in the Jwaneng diamond mining town in the east, and Ghanzi, some 240 kilometres in the west, a matter which does not sit well with tourists and travellers enroute to neighbouring Namibia. This notwithstanding Seipone still bubbles with confidence and sees potential and many avenues that can be exploited for the village to self- sustain and create the much- needed employment. In her own words, all that is needed is a visionary leader who like her late father, can motivate the tribe. Church Seipone mobilised the community to build Matsha Secondary School when there was no secondary school in the area. The community also built the Brigade to serve as a one- stop service institution, teaching all related vocational related courses including agriculture. The two are different; Seipone senior himself was a court clerk. He used to go around Kgalagadi teaching some of his counterparts how to take notes at Kgotla proceedings and keep records. She says her father would later get promoted and got appointed Kgosi of Bogogobi village. But his tribe in Kang would later demand for his return as he was doing wonders for others whilst they were left behind. “My father was unapologetic when he called for developments to be brought to Kang. He used to write letters to the Office of the President on why Kang area MPs overlooked the area. “It did not take long for developments to come our way including making it the region’s headquarters housing almost all key governments offices.”
A drive in the village indicates that Kang is one of the fastest- growing villages with visible government sanctioned projects. Today, almost all major roads are tarred and installed with lights. The village is growing at an alarming rate because it is centrallylocated along the Trans- Kgalagadi Highway. Kang was electrified alongside villages such as Tutume through the Village Infrastructure Project comprising of solar internal roads and storm water drainage. “At the time when the installation was done, Kang was the only village that was not a sub district as by then our population was 6500, according to the 2011 Population Census,” Seipone says. In addition to two primary schools, a junior and senior secondary school, a Brigade and Botswana Open University Campus, there is also a police station, a 24- hour fully equipped clinic, Magistrate court, numerous government departments, and Trade Union offices. The latest addition is the Anti- Poaching Training
Centre - that is still to start operation because it was stopped due to the outbreak of the COVID- 19 pandemic. The centre was instead used as a holding facility for those who tested positive. The village is called Kang, a question based on the village historical background. “This derived at a time when Bakwena were invading our territory and the question asked was what will protect us from Bakwena as they continue to follow us having chased us out of Dithejwane. “Their migration from Dithejwane saw us moving through Shoshong, Maun, and Gantsi. They had their livestock with them.” Seipone said they did not become Bakwena because her great grandfather refused to sign any documents that Bakwena tried to force him to. His refusal led to them not being under the Bakwena authority as compared to other villages close to them.
Upon arrival, there was a big pan which allegedly had all sorts of animals, but the place dried up leaving people with no alternative save to spread in all areas such as Motokwe, Morwamusu and others all of which form part of Matsha area. Although it is not a gazetted name, Kang residents call their village ‘ Kang Botswana’ because according to Kgosi Seipone, there are about 17 places around the world named Kang so they wanted to differentiate theirs from the rest. Kang is centrally located 40 kilometres away from CKGR. The grand plan is to open other entry points, one being from Boteti area. This also happens to be the route to Namibia, Ghanzi and largely an alternative route to the Delta.