Berseba
ǃAutsawises
Village
Lutheran church in Berseba during German colonial times
Lutheran church in Berseba during German colonial times
Nickname: 
The smile on the face of Brukkaros[1]
Berseba is located in Namibia
Berseba
Berseba
Location in Namibia
Coordinates: 25°58′S 17°46′E / 25.967°S 17.767°E / -25.967; 17.767
Country Namibia
RegionǁKaras Region
ConstituencyBerseba Constituency
Elevation
3,041 ft (926 m)
Population
[2]
 • Total5,000
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
ClimateBWh
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Berseba (Khoekhoe: ǃAutsawises) is a village in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia and the district capital of the Berseba electoral constituency. It is situated 100 km (62 mi) north-west of Keetmanshoop near the Brukkaros Mountain, a famous tourist destination.

History

The first people to permanently settle at this place, then known under its Khoikhoi name ǃAutsawises, were a group of Orlam herder clans from the Cape Province, driven across the Orange River by encroaching European settlers and the law enforcement of the Dutch East India Company. They arrived in the area of Berseba in 1812.[2] In 1850 their patriarch Paul Goliath established himself as independent leader of this community that subsequently became known as the "Berseba Orlam" (Khoekhoe: ǀHai-ǀkhaua).

The foundation of Berseba is recorded on 17 October 1850 when Rhenish Missionary Samuel Hahn founded the missionary station and gave it a biblically inspired name. In 1857 a church was built.[1]

People

Since the establishment of the chieftainship of the Berseba Orlam it has been held by the Goliath and Isaak clans who often were in dispute about the succession.[3] In the 1960s the two clans split over the leadership issue and only reunited in April 2010. Today, Kaptein Johannes Isaak is the traditional leader of the ǀHai-ǀkhaua.[4]

Development and Infrastructure

The first diamond in Namibia was found in this area in 1898,[5] and oil explorations were conducted in 1900[6] and 1929,[7] though neither led to substantial industrial development. The settlement is riddled with poverty, substance abuse, and crime. It features a secondary school, the Ecumenical Community School, which was declared "unfit to serve as an educational institution" in 2010 and has since been abandoned.[8]

Berseba is connected by road to Tses (MR98), Bethanie (D3901 and D3905), Asab (D3903), Helmeringhausen (D554) and Keetmanshoop (D531), as well as to the Brukkaros tourist site (D3904).

Politics

Berseba is governed by a village council that has five seats.[9]

In the 2004 local authority elections SWAPO gained three council seats and obtained 260 votes. One seat each was obtained by the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) and the Congress of Democrats (CoD) with 99 and 91 votes, respectively.[10] In the 2010 local authority election Berseba was one of a few local authorities in Namibia where an opposition party obtained more votes for the village council than SWAPO when the DTA defeated SWAPO 221 votes to 200. No other party participated in the election for the Berseba Village Council.[11] The 2015 local authority election was narrowly won by SWAPO party which gained three seats (266 votes). The DTA finished second and gained the remaining two seats (200 votes).[12]

In the 2020 local authority election the Landless People's Movement (LPM, a new party registered in 2018) won with 278 votes and gained two seats. SWAPO was the runner-up with 211 votes and also two sets. The remaining council seat went to the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM, the new name of the DTA since 2017) with 104 votes.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b "Karas Region Namibia, Berseba". Karas Regional Council. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Karas Region Namibia, Kara's People". Karas Regional Council. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  3. ^ Dierks, Klaus. "Biographies of Namibian Personalities, Goliath entries". Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  4. ^ Cloete, Luqman (3 June 2010). "Goliath splinter faction defends Boois". The Namibian.
  5. ^ Dierks, Klaus. "Chronology of Namibian History, 1898". Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  6. ^ Dierks, Klaus. "Chronology of Namibian History, 1900". Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  7. ^ Dierks, Klaus. "Chronology of Namibian History, 1929". Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  8. ^ Rhodes, Fifi (13 July 2010). "Governor lambastes learners, teachers". New Era. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013.
  9. ^ "Know Your Local Authority". Election Watch. No. 3. Institute for Public Policy Research. 2015. p. 4.
  10. ^ "14 May 2004 Local Authority Elections in Namibia". African Elections Database. 31 December 2005. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  11. ^ Local Authority results 2010 Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Electoral Commission of Namibia
  12. ^ "Local elections results". Electoral Commission of Namibia. 28 November 2015. p. 3. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  13. ^ "2020 Local Authority Elections Results and Allocation of Seats" (PDF). Electoral Commission of Namibia. 29 November 2020. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
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