[16] Because it was not affiliated with any specific indigenous group and was close to fresh water, the city was planned to be the capital in the mid-1960s when the Bechuanaland Protectorate became an independent nation.

[16] The centre of the city is a long strip of commercial businesses, called "Main Mall" with a semicircle-shaped area of government offices to its east.

In more recent history, the Tlokwa left the Magaliesberg ranges to settle in the area around 1880, and called the settlement Moshaweng.

[21][22] The modern town was only founded in 1964, after a decision was taken to establish a capital for Botswana, which became a self governing territory in 1965, before becoming a fully independent republic on 30 September 1966.

In 1971, because of the growth of illegal settlements, the Gaborone Town Council and the Ministry of Local Government and Lands surveyed an area called Bontleng, which would contain low-income housing.

The problem was solved in 1975 when Sir Seretse Khama, the president of Botswana, rezoned Naledi from an industrial zone to a low-income housing area.

[34] Former mayor Veronica Lesole has stated that Gaborone's development problems were caused by the original city planners.

[35] Gaborone is situated at 24°39′29″S 25°54′44″E / 24.65806°S 25.91222°E / -24.65806; 25.91222 between Kgale and Oodi Hills, on the Notwane River in the south-eastern corner of Botswana, and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the South African border.

Gaborone is surrounded by the following cities: Ramotswa to the southwest, Mogoditshane to the northwest, and Mochudi to the east, and Tlokweng across the river.

At the eastern end of the Mall, one can find the Civic Centre along with the Pula Arch that commemorates Botswana's independence.

[38] Gaborone has been affected by three floods based on records going back to 1995, one in 2000, one in 2001 that caused an estimated 5,000,000 Botswana pula worth of damage, and one in 2006.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has its headquarters in Gaborone; the organization was formed in 1980 to increase economic cooperation among its members and reduce dependence on South Africa.

[49] It has a unique style of architecture that allows the optimal amount of indirect sunlight to shine through the windows in order to accurately sort diamonds.

Gaborone is the fourth least expensive city for expatriates in Africa, coming in above Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at 211th, Kampala, Uganda at 202nd and Windhoek, Namibia at 198th.

The southern end houses the Kalahari Fishing Club and a new public facility called City Scapes.

The park helps with wildlife projects in Botswana that include: the reintroduction of the white rhino and the relocation of "problem" cheetahs.

[61] Somarelang Tikologo (Environment Watch Botswana) is a member-based environmental NGO housed inside an ecological park at the heart of Gaborone.

The park was officially opened by the Botswana Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Onkokame kitso Mokaila on 27 February 2009.

The Ministry of Local Government, Land and Housing has a major influence in terms of personnel hiring and training, budgeting, and development planning.

He advocates for a stronger city council with the power to determine budgets and hire and fire clerks and officers.

Near the entrance of the parliament building, there is a statue of Sir Seretse Khama, Botswana's first president as well as a memorial dedicated to the three hundred Batswana who were killed from 1939 to 1945.

The academy would provide training for middle managers for the countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

[54] Before 2000, residents of Gaborone received television programming from BOP TV in Mahikeng via a repeating transmitter on the summit of Kgale Hill.

[81] The city centre was planned to be functionalist,[26] with major buildings designed and built in the style of Modern architecture.

[82] The city's central business district (CBD) is still under construction so when one says downtown, they actually mean the Main Mall and Government Enclave areas where tall buildings are usually found.

[82][83] The Main Mall, a car-free shopping and commercial area, runs in an east–west direction with the Government Enclave and National Assembly on the west end and the Gaborone City Town Council complex on the east.

[18] Gaborone's CBD is home to the new Square Mall, The Tower, the new SADC headquarters, the Industrial Court,[84] a court specifically for settling trade disputes,[85] and the Three Dikgosi Monument, a landmark featuring the statues of Khama III, Sebele I, and Bathoen I,[86] three dikgosi, or chiefs, who traveled to Great Britain to establish the Bechuanaland Protectorate separate from Southern Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe) or the Cape Colony (present-day South Africa).

US$1.7M, €1.4M, or £1.1M as of June 2010), and over the construction company, North Korean Mansudae Overseas Projects, putting the wrong inscription date.

[49] The line stops at the following cities in and near Botswana: Ramatlabama on the South African border, Lobatse, Gaborone, Palapye, Serule, Francistown, Ramokgwebana, and Plumtree, Zimbabwe.

Kombis (small vans) and taxis ply the routes within the city, while buses serve surrounding villages and other towns in Botswana.