Gondola District


Gondola District is a district of Manica Province in western Mozambique. The principal town is Gondola. The area of the district is. It has a population of 262,412 as of 2007.

Geography

The district is located in the east of the province, and borders with Gorongosa District of Sofala Province to the northeast, Nhamatanda District of Sofala Province to the east, Buzi District of Sofala Province to the southeast, Macate District to the south and southwest, Chimoio District to the west, and Vanduzi District to the northwest.
The main river in the district is the Pungwe River, which makes the border with Gorongosa District.
The climate of the district varies with altitude. The lowlands are characterized by relatively low rainfall, between and. The transition zone has the average rainfall, and in higher altitude plains it varies between and.

History

The settlement of Gondola was developed as a station on a railroad connecting Beira and Salisbury.

Demographics

As of 2005, 46% of the population of the district was younger than 15 years. 44% did speak Portuguese. The most common mothertongue is Chitwe language. 63% were analphabetic, mostly women.

Administrative divisions

The district is divided into four postos, Amatongas, Cafumbe, Gondola, and Inchope.

Economy

2% of the households in the district have access to electricity.

Agriculture

In the district, there are 39,000 farms which have on average of land. The main agricultural products are corn, cassava, cowpea, peanut, sorghum, sweet potato, and rice.

Transportation

There is a road network in the district which includes of paved roads and of unpaved roads. In particular, the national road EN1 crosses the district north to south, and the national road EN6 connects the coast with Zimbabwe. In 2005, of roads were closed because of minefields.
A railroad connecing Beira with Machipanda and Zimbabwe crosses the district.