Page 70 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 27 Final
P. 70
Community
four countries (Zambia, Botswana, periods - April/early May and and Diners Club, are widely
Zimbabwe, and Namibia) meet at September/October - still tend accepted.
a single point mid-stream of the to be dry, but the days are cooler
Zambezi River. than in summer and the nights Health
The country lies between lon- are warmer than in winter. International Health certificate
gitudes 20°C and 30°C degrees of vaccination for Yellow fever
east of Greenwich Meridian and Rainfall is required from travellers or
between the latitudes 18°C and Rain falls during summer, the through the countries which
27°C approximately south of the peak falls are usually reached have been declared Yellow Fever
Equator. during the months of January Infected Areas.
and February. Botswana has a five tier health
The country is situated in the system comprising of health post,
Southern African region and about People clinic, primary hospital, district
two-thirds of Botswana lies within Botswana has a number of tribes hospital and referral hospitals.
the Tropics; it is bisected by the across the country, collectively Consultation in public health
Tropic of Capricorn. known as Batswana. The official facilities are subsidized, citizens
Climate And Seasons language is English and Setswa- pay BWP5 and non-citizens pay
Botswana’s climate is semi-arid na is the national language, BWP50.
though it is hot and dry for much although there are other spoken
of the year. The country experi- languages. Media
ences all the four seasons namely The Daily News is the state-
summer, autumn, winter and Government owned daily newspaper, pub-
spring. The country follows a multi-par- lished in Setswana and English
The summer season begins in ty democracy and holds national and there are also independent
November and ends in March, elections every five years. The newspapers published in Botswa-
bringing with it temperatures that President is the head of the state na.
can sometimes reach a blistering and The Government comprises Radio Botswana and Radio
44°C. three arms being; Executive, Botswana 2 - both state-owned,
The winter season begins in May Legislature and the Judiciary. broadcast nationally. Private
and ends in August. Winter days Botswana follows dual legal radio stations namely; Yarona,
are invariably sunny and cool system, combining Roman Duma, Gabz FM are also all
to warm. However, evening and Dutch law with customary law. available in most of major towns
night temperatures can drop below and villages in Botswana.
freezing point in some areas espe- Currency Botswana Television, a state
cially in the southwest. Sometimes Botswana’s unit of currency is owned media entity is avail-
frost is common and small quan- the Pula (BWP), which is di- able to over 90% of Botswana’s
tities of water can freeze. This is vided into 100 Thebe (t). Major population. eBotswana is the
also the dry season when virtually credit cards, including VISA, only private television station
no rainfall occurs. The in-between MasterCard, American Express in Botswana and is accessible
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