Africa-Press – Botswana. President Duma Boko says it is about time Maun is declared a city
Speaking at the just ended Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) annual conference in Maun last Thursday, President Adv. Duma Boko questioned why Maun has not yet been declared a city.
“Can Maun be a city? Actually, I was saying that when I was coming here this morning and asking myself why is this place not a city? It is about time,” he declared.
Often described as a gateway to one of the world’s heritage sites, The Okavango Delta, Maun is Botswana’s second largest village after Mogoditshane in the greater Gaborone.
Home to numerous Safari and air charter operators, Maun’s population was recorded at 85 293 in the 2002 census, a number that has surged since.
Maun has since 1995, been declared a planning area and the villages Development plan of 2021-2041 envisioned to turn Maun into a green city.
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In March 2021, the Northwest District Council through its Physical Planning, Housing and Estate Department drafted the development plan emphasising environmental preservation while boosting infrastructure.
“Maun serves as a gateway to the Okavango Delta World Heritage Site and as such the second principle is based on an awareness of the natural environment. In the end a delicate balance that ensures co-existence of the natural human ecosystem will provide the guiding basis for the formulation of Maun Development Plan 2021-2041,” reads the notice in part, which then was a call for members of the public to participate in the preparations of the plan.
Giving a facelift to Maun according to former legislators, was to attract tourists, encouraging them to spend more time in Maun instead of flying directly to and from the Delta.
The HATAB conference was held from April 24-25 under the theme “Botswana Tourism, what are the conditions for growth?”
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