Palapye - City of Botswana

Palapye is a large town in Botswana, situated about halfway between Francistown and Gaborone. Over the years its position has made it a convenient stopover on one of Southern Africa's principal north–south rail and road routes. It also has a small airfield, as well as the Morupule Colliery coal mine, which supplies Morupule Power Station, Botswana's principal domestic source of electricity. The power station has undertaken an expansion project to increase its generation capacity in an effort to meet the country's increasing demand for electricity. Construction is propsed to begin in 2009.

Palapye is experiencing a wide variety of development. Plans are in the advanced stages to build the second University of Botswana in Palapye. Construction for this is expected to commence by early 2009.

Due to current black-outs across the country, resulting from South Africa's refusal to supply electricity to Botswana, construction of the campus has been further delayed. The current power shortages have also halted construction for further developments in the area, such as the expansion for the Morupule Power Station. Plans for a new hospital, similar to the newly constructed Serowe Hospital, have also been proposed.

An International Airport, that will be located on the Palapye-Serowe road, is another development that is being considered. Construction for this, if the plan goes through, shall commence, by late 2009. This will follow the expansion of the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, which is the main international airport in Botswana.

Palapye is the home of several private schools catering for the demand for independent education. This includes the fast-growing, popular Kgaswe School, which caters to over 500 students. It was only a primary school until 2006, when Kgaswe begun Form 1 equivalent to grade 8. Every year, 1 extra class will be added. The secondary school is officially registered with the Cambridge International Examinations and will offer the IGCSE syllabus and possiblly HIGCSE.

There are also other Government High Schools. Lotsane Senior Secondary School is one of the main government schools in Palapye. It accommodates learners from Forms 1 to 5. It is one of the few boarding schools in the area.

There are several well known tourist attractions close to Palapye. The Khama Rhino sanctuary is probably the best known and is 40km from Palapye. The Tswapong Hills also have many areas of historical significance and well as the Moremi Gorge. This is an area of great beauty as it has a permanent water source.