Chronicle Editor
THE Republic of Zambia is a founding member of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), having hosted the formation of the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC), the precursor to Sadc, in April 1980.
SADCC transformed into Sadc with the signing of the Sadc Treaty in Windhoek, Namibia, in 1992.
Zambia is an entirely landlocked country. To the north it is bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the United Republic of Tanzania, to the west by Angola, to the south-west by Namibia, to the east by Malawi and Mozambique, and to the south by Zimbabwe and Botswana.
English is the official language and is widely spoken throughout the country. There are seven main vernacular languages: Nyanja, Bemba, Tonga, Lozi, Luvale, Lunda and Kaonde, with more than 70 dialects spoken across the country. In 1972, Zambia was declared a one-party State, but reverted to multi-party democracy in December 1990 and with general elections held in October 1991. The President is the Head of State.
Capital City: Lusaka
Area of Country: 752 612 square kilometres
Currency: Zambian Kwacha (ZMK) ZK 1 = 100 ngwee
Head of State: President Hakainde Hichilema
Official Languages: English, Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga, and Lozi
Zambia is divided into three main agro-ecological regions based primarily upon annual precipitation; there is further variation within regions based on factors such as soil type, temperature, precipitation, and elevation. The first region includes portions of the south-western corner of the country, as well as the country’s major valleys, such as the Gwembe, Zambezi, and Luangwa valleys. This region is the driest and most prone to drought, and its soils contain low levels of organic matter, low nutrient reserves, and high acidity levels. The second region spans the central part of the country and is divided into two sub-regions: the degraded plateau of the south-east, south-centre, and south-west and the Kalahari Sands and the Zambezi floodplain in the west.
Climate
Although Zambia lies within the tropics, its climate is modified by the altitude of the country and is generally favourable to human settlement and comfort. The marked seasonal pattern of precipitation is caused by the north and south movement of the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ), which shifts with the Sun. In January, the ITCZ is in its southernmost position, and the rainy season is at its peak; by June it has moved north, and the weather is dry. Summer rains reduce the high temperatures that might be expected at this time.
Precipitation (concentrated in just five months) varies according to agro-ecological region but generally comes in storms with heavy raindrops that lead to a hard soil surface and surface erosion. The driest region receives annual precipitation of less than 800mm, while precipitation in the wettest region normally exceeds 1 000mm; precipitation occasionally exceeds 1 400mm in the north-east.
Temperature is modified by elevation, with the highest mean daily maximum temperatures occurring in the Luangwa Valley and the south-west. The coolest area overall is the high Nyika plateau, in the northeast on the border with Malawi. During the cold months (June and July), the area west of the Line of Rail is coolest, with mean minimum temperatures mostly below about 7 degrees Celsius. Sesheke, in the south-west, has frost on an average of 10 days per year.
People
Most Zambians speak Bantu languages of the Niger-Congo language family and are descended from farming and metal-using peoples who settled in the region over the past 2 000 years. Cultural traditions in the northeast and north-west indicate influences and migrations from the upper Congo basin. There are also some descendants of hunters and gatherers who seem to have been pushed back into the Kalahari, the Bangweulu and Lukanga swamps, and the Kafue Flats. In the 19th century, invaders arrived from the south, the Ngoni settled in the east, while the Kololo briefly ruled the Lozi in the upper Zambezi Valley. Europeans began to enter in significant numbers in the late 19th century.
Although most Zambians are of Bantu origin, the complex patterns of immigration have produced wide linguistic and cultural variety. The Bemba group is the most widespread, accounting for more than one-fifth of the population, and is distributed in the north-central part of the country, in the Northern, Luapula, and Copperbelt provinces. The Nyanja (also known as Chewa) and Tonga language groups are also important, together accounting for more than one-fifth of the population. Nyanja languages are spoken in the Eastern and Central provinces, while Tonga languages are spoken mainly in the Southern and Western provinces.
Numerous languages or dialects have been identified in Zambia. There are seven official vernacular languages: Bemba, Nyanja, Lozi, Tonga, Luvale, Lunda, and Kaonde, the latter three being languages of North-Western Province. English is the official language of government and is used for education, commerce, and law.
Zambia is predominantly a Christian country, although few have totally abandoned all aspects of traditional belief systems. The first Christian missions arrived before colonial rule, and the growth of adherents was greatly assisted by the schools that they established. More than three-fourths of Zambians identify as Protestant, while Roman Catholics make up one-fifth of the population. The growth of fundamentalist churches has been particularly noticeable since independence, and the government of the newly independent country soon ran into conflict with two of these, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Lumpa church. The Asian community is predominantly Hindu, the rest mainly Muslim. There are relatively few Muslims among the African population.
Economy
Zambia’s economy is heavily dependent on mining, in particular the mining of copper. Reserves of copper ore at some mines are becoming depleted, costs of production have increased, and income has fluctuated depending on the price of copper on the world market, accentuating the need for Zambia to broaden its economic base. Agriculture is relatively poorly developed, however, and major investment in the manufacturing industry did not take place until after independence. State involvement in all aspects of the economy, an early feature of independent Zambia, created a highly centralised and bureaucratic economic structure. Changes in the political structure of the country in the early 1990s were accompanied by efforts to increase private investment and involvement, particularly in the industrial sector, which continued into the 21st century. Agricultural pursuits employ the majority of the country’s labour force. Zambia has a vast land and natural resource base, although only about one-sixth of the country’s arable land is under cultivation. Farms range in size from household farms to large commercial farms. Smallholder farmers use hand hoes and few external inputs, and they mainly produce food crops such as corn (maize), sorghum, millet, cassava (manioc), and groundnuts (peanuts). Much of Zambia’s cotton, which is used for the local textile industry as well as for export, is also grown by smallholders. Medium and large commercial farms benefit from improved seed, fertiliser, and animal draught power. The country’s large-scale commercial farms are mainly located along the Line of Rail and are predominately owned and operated by European settlers and their descendants, a pattern that dates back to colonial days when African males were recruited to work the copper mines while European settlers were brought in to work the fields.
Maize is a staple food crop and accounts for the largest proportion of planted area on Zambian farms.
Zambia has relatively rich fisheries based on its many lakes, swamps, and seasonally inundated floodplains. Of particular importance is the Luapula valley, which supplies the Copperbelt. Lake Tanganyika is famous for Nile perch and kapenta, a deep-feeding freshwater sardine caught at night using special lamps to direct its movements. Lusaka is supplied mainly from the Kafue Flats and the Lukanga Swamp. Of lesser importance is the fishery on the upper Zambezi. There has been a revival of fishing on Lake Kariba, interrupted by the conflict with Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) during the 1970s. There is a fishery of kapenta, which had been introduced successfully from Lake Tanganyika, although the fishery is better established in Zimbabwe. Most fish is smoked before being trucked to market. Copper was the basis of Zambia’s prosperity in the first decade of independence. In the decades that followed, the need for diversification was underscored by the fluctuation of world copper prices, the reduction of market demand due to the appearance of alternatives such as optical glass fibre, and the increased costs associated with the exhaustion of reserves in existing mining areas. Other minerals worked in Zambia include cobalt, gold, and silver, all of which occur in association with copper. Iron ore is found near Mumbwa. There is an increasing awareness of the value of Zambia’s gemstones. Zambia’s emerald deposits are among the world’s largest; the gem is mined near Luanshya and Ndola and cut and polished locally. Amethyst, aquamarine, and tourmaline are also mined. Large deposits of cosmetic-grade talc are found near Ndola and Lusaka. Limestone is widely found on the Copperbelt and in the Lusaka district and is quarried for stone, lime, and cement; associated with it are workable occurrences of marble.
Politics
Zambia’s initial constitution was abandoned in August 1973 when it became a one-party state. The constitution of the Second Republic provided for a “one-party participatory democracy,” with the United National Independence Party (UNIP) the only legal political party.
In response to mounting pressures within the country, the constitution was changed in 1991 to allow the reintroduction of a multi-party system.
Under the terms of the constitution, the president, who is head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces, is elected by universal adult suffrage to no more than two five-year terms. He is empowered to appoint the vice-president, the chief justice, and members of the High Court on the advice of the Judicial Services Commission. During the president’s absence, his duties are assumed by the vice-president. From elected members of the legislature, called the National Assembly, the president also appoints a Cabinet that consists of ministers, deputy ministers, and provincial deputy ministers.
Zambia’s major political parties include the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), the United Party for National Development (UNDP), the UNIP, and the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD). Just prior to the 2006 presidential elections, the UNDP, UNIP, and FDD organised themselves into the United Democratic Alliance, with each of the party leaders serving as a co-president.
Rupiah Banda failed to be re-elected in the 2011 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, losing to Michael Sata of the Patriotic Front. This brought an end to a total of 20 years’ rule by three presidents from the MMD.
In the 2021 general elections, characterised by a 70 percent voter turnout, Hakainde Hichilema who was representing the United Party for National Development (UPND) won 59 percent of the vote, with his closest rival, incumbent president Edgar Chagwa Lungu, receiving 39 percent of the vote. Lungu conceded in a TV statement, sending a letter and congratulating president-elect Hakainde Hichilema. On 24 August 2021, Hakainde Hichilema was sworn in as the new President of Zambia. – Sadc.int/Brittanica.
Bongani Ndlovu