Odo Shakiso
Encyclopedia
Odo Shakiso is one of the 180 woreda
s in the Oromia Region
of Ethiopia
. Part of the Guji Zone
, Odo Shakiso is bordered on the south by the Dawa River
which separates it from Arero
, on the west by Hagere Mariam
, on the northeast by Uraga
, on the north by Bore
, on the northeast by Adolana Wadera
, and on the east by Liben
. Towns in Odo Shakiso include Shakiso
and Megado.
and the Kenticha tantalum
mines, both near Shakiso. Gold has also been extracted by placer mining
from the Awata River, which flows between Shakiso and Megado. A hydro-electric power station over the Mormora River was inaugurated by Emperor Haile Selassie in March 1965. Gold mining continues to be an important industry in this woreda, with the announcement 24 November 2009, that MIDROC Gold signed a 10-year agreement with the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines and Energy, for the extraction of almost 20.5 metric tons of gold from the Sakaro fields, three kilometers from the existing Lega Dembi mines. Between 1998 and 2008 MIDROC extracted 34 metric tons from the Lega Dembi mines, earning 466 million dollars; the new mine at Sakara is expected to bring a revenue of 564 million dollars, of which 130 million will go to the government as taxes and royalties. Coffee
is an important cash crop in this woreda; over 5,000 hectares are planted with it.
Odo Shakiso was one of four woredas that suffered from a wildfire
that was started 10 February 2000 and was not brought under control until 7 April, after it had burned a total of 70,000 hectares. The woreda suffered from another wildfire in early 2008, which burned over 2,500 hectares, including 60 hectares planted in coffee
and enset. Losses to wild animals, the displacement of eight households and damages to bee hives were also reported.
This woreda was part of the Borena Zone until it, along with four other woredas, were split off in September 2003 to create the Guji Zone.
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 133,466, of whom 63,954 are men and 69,512 are women; 31,559 or 23.65% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 11.6%. With an estimated area of 4,144.53 square kilometers, Odo Shakiso has an estimated population density of 32.2 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 21.1.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 91,785, of whom 47,642 were men and 44,143 women; 17,598 or 19.17% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The four largest ethnic groups reported in Odo Shakiso were the Oromo
(79.84%), the Amhara
(9.35%), the Gedeo
(5.38%), and the Soddo Gurage (1.04%); all other ethnic groups made up 4.39% of the population. Oromiffa
was spoken as a first language by 75.76%, 16.61% spoke Amharic
, and 4.99% spoke Gedeo
; the remaining 2.64% spoke all other primary languages reported. The plurality of the inhabitants were Protestant
, with 38.31% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 25.96% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, 17.12% practiced traditional beliefs, 6.78% were Catholic
, and 6.5% were Muslim
.
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
s in the Oromia Region
Oromia Region
Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Part of the Guji Zone
Guji Zone
Guji is one of the 17 zones of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Guji is named after a tribe of the Oromo people. Guji is bordered on the south by Borena, on the west by the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, on the north by the Ganale Dorya River which separates it from Bale and on...
, Odo Shakiso is bordered on the south by the Dawa River
Dawa River
The Dawa River is a perennial river in southeastern Ethiopia. Rising in the mountains east of Aleta Wendo, the Dawa flows south and east to join with the Ganale Dorya at the border with Somalia to become the Jubba. The river forms part of the Ethiopia–Kenya border and part of the Ethiopia–Somalia...
which separates it from Arero
Arero
Arero is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Borena Zone, Arero is bordered on the southwest by Dire, on the west by Yabelo, on the north by Hagere Mariam, on the northeast by the Guji Zone, on the east by the Somali Region, and on the south by Moyale; the Dawa...
, on the west by Hagere Mariam
Hagere Mariam (woreda)
Hagere Mariam is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after its largest town, Hagere Mariam. Part of the Borena Zone, Hagere Mariam is bordered on the south by the Dawa River which separates it from Arero, on the southwest by Yabelo, on the west by the Southern Nations,...
, on the northeast by Uraga
Uraga (woreda)
Uraga is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Guji Zone, Uraga is bordered on the south by Odo Shakiso, on the west by the Borena Zone, on the north by the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, and on the east by Bore...
, on the north by Bore
Bore (woreda)
Bore is a small town in Gujii Zone, Oromia region, Located 385 Km south of Addis Ababa . Bore district is bordered on the south by Annaa Sorraa, on the west by Uraagaa, on the north and the east by the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region...
, on the northeast by Adolana Wadera
Adolana Wadera
Adolana Wadera is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Borena Zone, Adolana Wadera is bordered on the south by Liben, on the southwest by Odo Shakiso, on the west by Bore, on the north by the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region, and on the east by...
, and on the east by Liben
Liben, Oromia (woreda)
Liben is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Guji Zone, Liben is bordered on the south by the Dawa River which separates it from the Borena Zone, on the west by Odo Shakiso, on the northwest by Adolana Wadera, on the north by the Ganale Dorya River which separates...
. Towns in Odo Shakiso include Shakiso
Shakiso
Shakiso is a town in southern Ethiopia. Located in the Gujii Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 1758 meters above sea level....
and Megado.
Overview
Two of the major mines of Ethiopia are located in Odo Shakiso: the Lega Dembi goldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and the Kenticha tantalum
Tantalum
Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as tantalium, the name comes from Tantalus, a character in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a rare, hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion resistant. It is part of the refractory...
mines, both near Shakiso. Gold has also been extracted by placer mining
Placer mining
Placer mining is the mining of alluvial deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment....
from the Awata River, which flows between Shakiso and Megado. A hydro-electric power station over the Mormora River was inaugurated by Emperor Haile Selassie in March 1965. Gold mining continues to be an important industry in this woreda, with the announcement 24 November 2009, that MIDROC Gold signed a 10-year agreement with the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines and Energy, for the extraction of almost 20.5 metric tons of gold from the Sakaro fields, three kilometers from the existing Lega Dembi mines. Between 1998 and 2008 MIDROC extracted 34 metric tons from the Lega Dembi mines, earning 466 million dollars; the new mine at Sakara is expected to bring a revenue of 564 million dollars, of which 130 million will go to the government as taxes and royalties. Coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
is an important cash crop in this woreda; over 5,000 hectares are planted with it.
Odo Shakiso was one of four woredas that suffered from a wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
that was started 10 February 2000 and was not brought under control until 7 April, after it had burned a total of 70,000 hectares. The woreda suffered from another wildfire in early 2008, which burned over 2,500 hectares, including 60 hectares planted in coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
and enset. Losses to wild animals, the displacement of eight households and damages to bee hives were also reported.
This woreda was part of the Borena Zone until it, along with four other woredas, were split off in September 2003 to create the Guji Zone.
Demographics
Based on figures published by the Central Statistical AgencyCentral Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 133,466, of whom 63,954 are men and 69,512 are women; 31,559 or 23.65% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 11.6%. With an estimated area of 4,144.53 square kilometers, Odo Shakiso has an estimated population density of 32.2 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 21.1.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 91,785, of whom 47,642 were men and 44,143 women; 17,598 or 19.17% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The four largest ethnic groups reported in Odo Shakiso were the Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
(79.84%), the Amhara
Amhara people
Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...
(9.35%), the Gedeo
Gedeo people
The Gedeo are an ethnic group in southern Ethiopia. The Gedeo Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region is named for this people...
(5.38%), and the Soddo Gurage (1.04%); all other ethnic groups made up 4.39% of the population. Oromiffa
Oromo language
Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...
was spoken as a first language by 75.76%, 16.61% spoke Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
, and 4.99% spoke Gedeo
Gedeo language
Gedeo is the name of a Highland East Cushitic language of the Afro-Asiatic family spoken in south central Ethiopia. Alternate names for the language include Derasa, Deresa, Darassa, Geddeo, Derasanya, Darasa. It is spoken by the Gedeo people, who live in the highland area, southwest of Dila and...
; the remaining 2.64% spoke all other primary languages reported. The plurality of the inhabitants were Protestant
P'ent'ay
P'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...
, with 38.31% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 25.96% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, 17.12% practiced traditional beliefs, 6.78% were Catholic
Roman Catholicism in Ethiopia
The Catholic Church in Ethiopia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.The Ethiopian Catholic Church, the primary organization of Catholicism in the country, is especially close to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose doctrine and...
, and 6.5% were Muslim
Islam in Ethiopia
According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...
.