| Lusaka | |
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| — City — | |
| View of Lusaka's Central Business District | |
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Lusaka
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Zambia |
| Province | Lusaka |
| Established | 1905 |
| City status | August 25, 1960 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor of Lusaka | Robert Chikwelete |
| Area[1] | |
| • Total | 360 km2 (139 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,300 m (4,265 ft) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,742,979 |
| Time zone | SAST (UTC+2) |
| Area code(s) | (1) |
| Website | http://www.lcc.gov.zm |
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres (4,265 feet). It has a population of about 1.7 million (2010 census). It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head north, south, east and west from it. The two main languages spoken in Lusaka are English and Nyanja (a Bantu language). English is the official language. Lusaka is one of the fastest developing cities in Southern Africa
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As national capital, Lusaka is the seat of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, epitomized by the presence of the National Assembly (parliament), the State House (office of the President), and the High Court. The Parliament is situated at the Parliament complex, which features a 15-story building. The city is also the capital of Lusaka Province, the smallest and second most populous of the country's nine provinces, and forms an administrative district run by Lusaka City Council. In 2007, the mayor was Steven Chilatu (PF), and the deputy mayor was Mary Phiri.
List of mayors:[2]
List of Governors (decentralisation - one party participatory era)
List of Mayors - Multi-Party Era
Lusaka was the site of a village named after its headman Lusakaa, which, according to history, was located at Manda Hill, near where the Zambia's National Assembly building now stands. In the Nyanja language, Manda means graveyard. The area was expanded by European (mainly British) settlers in 1905 with the building of the railway.
In 1935, due to its fairly central location, its situation on the railway and at the crossroads of the Great North Road and Great East Road, it was chosen to replace Livingstone as the capital of the British colony of Northern Rhodesia.
After the federation of Northern and Southern Rhodesia in 1953, it was a centre of the independence movement amongst some of the educated elite that led to the creation of the Republic of Zambia. In 1964, Lusaka became the capital of the newly independent Zambia.
In recent years, Lusaka has become a popular urban settlement for Zambians and tourists alike. Its central nature and fast growing infrastructure sector has increased donor confidence and as such Zambians are seeing signs of development in the form of job creation, housing, etc. Consequently, it is thought that with proper and effective economic reforms, Lusaka as well as Zambia as a whole will develop considerably. Lusaka is home to a diverse community of foreigners, many of whom work in the aid industry as well as diplomats, representatives of religious organizations and some business people.
Zambia's highest institution of learning the University of Zambia is based in Lusaka. Lusaka has some of the finest schools in Zambia, including the International School of Lusaka, Rhodes Park School, the Lusaka International Community School, the French International School, the Italian international School, the Lusaka Islamic Cultural and Educational Foundation (LICEF), the Chinese International School, Baobab College and the American International School. Rhodes Park School is not an international school, though there is a large presence of Angolans, Nigerians, Congolese, South Africans, and Chinese. The children of the late President, Levy Mwanawasa as well as the children of Vice-President George Kunda, attend the Rhodes Park School.
Attractions include Lusaka National Museum, the Political Museum, the Zintu Community Museum, the Freedom Statue, the Zambian National Assembly, the Agricultural Society Showgrounds (known for their annual agricultural show), the Moore Pottery Factory, the Lusaka Playhouse theatre, a cinema, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Lusaka, a cenotaph, a golf club, the Lusaka Central Sports Club, and the zoo and botanical gardens of the Munda Wanga Environmental Park. The city is also home to the University of Zambia. Along Great East Road are the two largest shopping malls in Zambia, Arcades shopping mall (with open-air storefronts) and Manda Hill shopping mall (enclosed shops), which was recently revamped and is home to international stores such as Shoprite, Game and Woolworths, a new movie theater and boasts of the first KFC in the country.
The city centre includes several blocks west of Cairo Road, around which lie the New City Market and Kamwala Market, a major shopping area, as well as the Zintu Community Museum. Further east lies the government area, including the State House and the various ministries, around the Cathedral Hill and Ridgeway areas. One of the main streets and points of interest upon business is the street of Cairo Road.
According to former mayor Richard Sampson[2], Cairo Road was named by a local farmer, Albert Dunbar, in about 1923.
Some buildings along Cairo Road are the Findeco House (25 floors), Central Bank Building, Indeco House (19 floors), Zambia National Building Society Headquarters (20 floors), Old Zambia Lotto Head Office, Zambia National Commercial Bank (21 floors), Barclays Bank Zambia Head Office, Stanbic Bank Zambia Headquarters, Investrust Bank (18 floors).
The city is home to Lusaka International Airport and lies on the railway line from Livingstone to Kitwe. This airport is the hub of Zambezi Airlines. Zambezi airlines offers flights to Johannesburg, Ndola and Dar-es-Salaam. Lusaka International Airport is used as a public and military airport. There is also an old airport nearer to the center of the city that is no longer used by civilians, but occasionally used by the president.
Bus services to towns surrounding Lusaka, such as Siavonga and Chirundu use the Lusaka City Market Bus and the inter-city bus terminus station and the city bus station (Kulima Towers Station).
The rugby union players Corné Krige and George Gregan, who respectively captained the South Africa and Australia teams in both the 2002 and 2003 Tri Nations Series, were coincidentally born in the same hospital in Lusaka.[4][5][6] Krige's parents still live in Zambia.
Suburbs around Lusaka include Handsworth Park, Sunningdale, Kabulonga, Woodlands, Jesmondine, Acacia, Northmead, Olympia Park, Roma, Kalundu, Chelston, Avondale, Rhodes Park, Prospect Hill, Longacres, Fairview, Chainama Hills, State Lodge, Makeni, Emmasdale, Leopards Hill, New Kasama, Chalala, Ibex Hill, Mass Media, Libala, Marshlands, Manda Hill, Chainda, Chudleigh, Kamwala South, Kamwala, Mwembeshi, Barlastone, Foxdale, Madras, NIPA, Mapepe, Lilayi, PHI, Nyumba Yanga, Olympia Extension, Chilenje, Thorn Park, Twinpalm, Villa Elizabetha. Other residential areas are Kabwata (a working class area, home to the Kabwata Cultural Centre), Misisi, Madras, Ziwa Zakho, Shang'ombo, Kwa Shadreck, Matero, Mtendendere, Chaisa, Chawama, John Laing, Kalingalinga, Kwa George, Chipata Compound, Ng'ombe, Lilanda, Mandevu, Garden Compound, Bauleni, Helen Kaunda, Kaunda Square (stage one and stage two), and Chilanga (Lusaka), Zambia.
Primarily due to its high altitude, Lusaka features a humid subtropical climate. Its coldest month, July, has a monthly average temperature of 16°C, a couple of degrees shy of what would constitute a tropical climate, specifically a tropical savanna climate. Lusaka features a relatively warm climate, typically with warm (but not hot) summers and very mild “winters”. The city’s warmest month, October, sees monthly average high temperatures at around 25°C. Lusaka features a wet season and a dry season with the dry season predominating the year, lasting from April through October.
| Climate data for Lusaka | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 31 (88) |
31 (88) |
30 (86) |
31 (88) |
29 (84) |
28 (82) |
28 (82) |
31 (88) |
35 (95) |
38 (100) |
37 (99) |
34 (93) |
38 (100) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 26 (79) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
25 (77) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
25 (77) |
29 (84) |
31 (88) |
29 (84) |
27 (81) |
26 (79) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 17 (63) |
17 (63) |
17 (63) |
15 (59) |
12 (54) |
10 (50) |
9 (48) |
12 (54) |
15 (59) |
18 (64) |
18 (64) |
17 (63) |
15 (59) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 14 (57) |
13 (55) |
13 (55) |
10 (50) |
8 (46) |
4 (39) |
4 (39) |
6 (43) |
8 (46) |
12 (54) |
13 (55) |
14 (57) |
4 (39) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 231 (9.09) |
191 (7.52) |
142 (5.59) |
18 (0.71) |
3 (0.12) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
10 (0.39) |
91 (3.58) |
150 (5.91) |
836 (32.91) |
| Source: BBC Weather [7] | |||||||||||||
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