President Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia announced last week that Namibia now has a new region and renamed two regions.
The Caprivi Region is now to be known as the Zambezi Region, while the neighbouring Kavango Region will be divided into Kavango East and Kavango West. Karas Region has been renamed to !Karas Region.
The Caprivi region was named after Count Leo von Caprivi, the German Chancellor from 1890 to 1894. The southern African nation was a German colony from 1884 to 1919, and following World War II was administered by South Africa until independence in 1990.
Two other towns bearing the names of Germany's colonial politicians were changed to local languages. Schuckmannsburg, in the former Caprivi Region, has been changed back to its original named, Lohonono. The harbour town of Luederitz is now called !NamiNüs, which means 'embrace' in local Khoekhoegowab, a Khoisan language.
The decision to change the names comes after the President received a report from the Delimitation Commission, a body tasked with recommending changes to boundaries of regions, creating new or dividing regions.
Read more online:
Namibia wipes colonialism off the map (external link, opens in a new window)
German's 'forgot' Victoria Falls (external link, opens in a new window)
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