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Makambako

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Makambako
Town and ward
Rail station
Rail station
Map of Makambako showing infrastructure
Map of Makambako showing infrastructure
Country Tanzania
RegionNjombe Region
Population
 (2002)
 • Total
51,049
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)

Makambako is a medium-sized town and ward in the Njombe Region of the Tanzanian Southern Highlands, located roughly 40 miles north of Njombe city by road.[1][2] It is located at junction of the A104 and B4 roads between Njombe, Iringa, and Mbeya. Its population according to the 2002 Tanzanian census is 51,049.[3]

History

Makambako was visited by Paul Theroux who in his book Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town described it not as a town but "a collection of hovels on stretch of paved road where idle people sat or stood."[4]

The town of Makambako has seen fast development. As a result, the northwest Wabena are advocating for Makambako to become its own district.[5]

Geography

Makambako is located in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, approximately 40 miles north of the district capital of Njombe. The ward of Makambako contains the settlements of Ikwete Ilangboli, Maguvani, Ubena, Kipagamo, Idofi, Mlowa, Mkolango, Lyamkena, Kiumba, Mwembetogwa, Mjimwema, Kilimahewa and Kigamo.[6]

The Makambako Plateau is one of three agroecological zones in the Njombe District, the other two being the Eastern Highlands and the Njombe Plateau.[7]

Maize is commonly grown in the plateau[7] while Makambako is notable for tomato cultivation and trade.[8]

Culture

Ethnic groups

The largest ethnic group in Makambako town are the Bena. Their living arrangements include large, polygamous, extended families and on average, there are more than five children in a household. Farming responsibility is left to women with almost all of them following an occupation. Female headed households are more dependent on subsistence food, operating as "street hawkers" or with mobile fast-food kitchens.[9]

Language

The residents speak Kisovi a variation of Kibena.[10]

Education

There are several primary, secondary, and day schools in Makambako. Some of these include Iyayi Primary School, Azimio Primary School, SaaHiiHii Makambako Secondary School, Maelezo ya Makambako Secondary School, Mcf-Makambako Girls Secondary School, Ashira Secondary School, and Mramba Day Secondary School.[11]

Health services

Under the Archdiocese of Songea, there are two health services dispensaries in Makambako District, the Makambako Dispensary in the town of Makambako and the Kitanewa Dispensary in the town of Kitanewa.[12] The Makambako Parish is run by the Benedictine Sisters, Congregation of Saint Agnes, Saint Bikire Maria wa Huruma.[13]

Transportation

The 322 kilometres road between Songea and Makambako was funded by the ODA and was built between 1980 and 1985.[14] There is a regular quick bus service.[15]

Makambako lies along the TAZARA Railway. The bridge section of the railway in Makambako was said to have been completed in early 1973.[16]

Public works

Makambako is a major centre for rural planning in the region and contains a Rural Service Centre, where thousands of plots have been surveyed and allocated to developers.[17] Councillors based in Makambako are also responsible for the facilitation and planning of other works in the area.

Makambako was connected by electricity in 1981, however, high installation costs has meant that by 1992, only 2% used electricity for cooking and only 22% had it installed.[17] The Italian organization, ABB-SAE Sadelmi has erected high-tension power lines and worked on the rehabilitation of the National Grid between Makambako and Mbeya.[18]

In 1992, a piped water supply project received financial and technical assistance from UNICEF, but even after completion, it was considered inadequate, requiring continued potable water dependency on boreholes, dams and streams.[17] Facing an acute problem of water, the Makambako Shallow Wells Project is expected to ease water woes. Organized under the auspices of the GEF/Small Grants Programme, the project started in September 2008 and is expected to be completed in December 2010. Ubena Cultural Reforms Association is the Grantee of the US$36,799 grant.[19]

Tourism

Hotels include Jay Jay Highlands Hotel, Makambako Lutheran Centre and Midtown Lodge.[20]

References

  1. ^ IDS bulletin, Volume 23. University of Sussex. Institute of Development Studies. 1992. p. 18.
  2. ^ Google Maps (Map). Google. {{cite map}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ "2002 Population and Housing Census General Report". National Bureau of Statistics of Tanzania, accessed via GeoHive. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  4. ^ Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2004. p. 267. ISBN 0-618-44687-7.
  5. ^ Nyaluke, David. "Ethnicity and Political Competition in Tanzania". p. 8. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  6. ^ "Village Statistics - Iringa Region". National Bureau of Statistics of Tanzania. August 2002. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  7. ^ a b Wardell, Andrew (June 1993). ILEIA Newsletter. 9 (2) http://www.leisa.info/index.php?url=show-blob-html.tpl&p[o_id]=69274&p[a_id]=211&p[a_seq]=2. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ Kurosaki, Ryugo (March 2007). "Multiple uses of small-scale valley bottom land: case study of the Matengo in sourthern Tanzania". African Study Monographs, Suppl. 36, 19-38. p. 13. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  9. ^ Mohamed-Salih, Margaret A. (1994). Inducing food insecurity: perspectives on food policies in Eastern and Southern Africa. Nordic Africa Institute. p. 112. ISBN 91-7106-359-5.
  10. ^ Levens, Joshua Philip (December 2006). "Kibena, A Beginner's Dictionary (also with some Kigogo)". Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  11. ^ "The Organisation Structure of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training". moe.go.tz. Ministry of Education and Vocational Training. Retrieved 25 October 2010. [dead link‍]
  12. ^ "Health Services". Metropolitan of Songea. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  13. ^ "Afrique". st-benoit-du-lac.com. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  14. ^ "SONGEA-MAKAMBAKO ROAD PROJECT, TANZANIA". The National Archives. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  15. ^ "Professional and lay care in the Tanzanian village of Ilembula". herkules.oulu.fi. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  16. ^ George T. Yu (1975). China's African policy: a study of Tanzania:Praeger special studies in international politics and government. Praeger. ISBN 0-275-09060-4.
  17. ^ a b c Improving rural regional settlement systems in Africa: with special reference to rural service centres. United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. 1993. pp. 46–47. ISBN 92-1-131213-2.
  18. ^ "Italians in Tanzania". diplomacy.edu. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  19. ^ "GEF/SGP Project - Makambako Shallow Wells Project". sgp.undp.org. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  20. ^ "Makambako". Lonely Planet. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
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