Zambia is a landlocked country in Central/Southern Africa, surrounded by eight neighbours. From the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River to the southern shores of Lake Tanganyika in the north, and from Chipata in the east to Kalabo in the west, Zambia is a country of a variety of ecological zones, shaped by plateaus and escarpments, valleys, and hills. The country is donned with a variety of forests and other forms of vegetation, drained by small and large rivers, and endowed with lakes and swamps filled with over 120 fish species and blessed with an abundant wildlife ranging from the largest, the elephant to the smallest buck. In between are Buffalos, Giraffes, Rhino, various Bucks and carnivore- the Lion, Leopard and Hyeana. With it 19 Game Parks and 31 Game areas. For those who love birds, there are over 720 species. Zambia offers one of the best tourist destinations to see wild life in its pristine environment by joining walking safaris, drive -in or from observation points.
From the rushing waters of the mighty Zambezi River, home of the mighty Victoria Falls and the envy of rafters, to the blue calm waters of the Lakes Mweru, Bangweulu and Tanganyika in the north, Zambia offers opportunities to the tourist to enjoy a memorable visit to the various parts of the country.
In the coming year, 2005, Zambia will observe three important events: the 150th anniversary of the sighting of the Victoria Falls by Dr. David Livingston recorded on 16 November 1855; the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Livingston, the tourist capital by the administration of North West Rhodesia and later served as the capital of Northern Rhodesia until moved to Lusaka in 1935; and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dag Hammerskjoed, the former Secretary General who died in a plane crash outside Ndola, whilst on a peace mission to resolve the Congo crisis. Zambia is an oasis of peace and tranquility, the sanctuary for many refugees, and a country imbued with a democratic tradition.
The eleven million Zambian are friendly people. They also offer varieties of material culture, and cultural tourism through dances and festivals.
The Author was born in Mansa on 13 May 1945. He grew up in the mining area of Zambia called the Copperbelt where he attended primary school and later had secondary school education in Lugazi, Uganda. He began his teaching career in the primary and secondary schools, and primary teacher training colleges. He is a graduate of the Universities of Zambia in Lusaka for the first degree, Wisconsin at Madison, USA for his Masters and PhD and Uppsala, Sweden for the postgraduate diploma in Conflict Resolution. After his postgraduate studies, he taught at the Universities of Zambia 1974 -1997); Miami University, Oxford, Ohio), in United States of America (1984 to 1985; Cape Town (1991) and Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (1993)(; Chancellor College, Malawi (1995); and Namibia (1997-2000). He has done extensive research and published widely on political, economic, social, health, veterinary, and environmental issues in Eastern and Southern Africa. He is Zambia''s former Ambassador and Permanent Representative at the United Nations, New York (September 2000 to December 2004).
The understanding of developments taking place in Africa requires some knowledge of a country or region being discussed. In this book, we focus on Zambia, a land locked country in the southern African region, surrounded by eight neighbours. It is a country that has remained at peace when a number of its neighbours have been involved in bitter civil wars and is trying hard to bring social and economic development to its citizens. It was among the first to transition from one party to multi party system of government. It has fought hard from a deficit in agricultural production to a surplus harvest, wiping out the deleterious effects of the two-year drought to exporting to the neighbours.
There has been a great need to know more about Zambia. Her geo-political position within the Southern Africa, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African scene, her tourist attractions, fight against poverty, the impact of the drought, her struggle to reduce HIV/AIDS infection and attend to the problems of the orphans and other vulnerable groups, her fight to diversify her economy and more other reasons have created an interest in scholars, students, tourists, missionaries and the general public wishing to know more about the country, its leadership, policies and strategies.
Most of the information on the country is available in books, journals, magazines and newspapers as well as many unpublished papers. What was required was a bit of time to collect this information and put in a book form. The result of my effort is Focus on Zambia. It is my hope that this book will be able to provide the useful basic information on the Republic of Zambia to experts on Zambia, researchers and casual readers.
In completing this book, I wish to express my sincere thanks to former colleagues and students at the University of Zambia, relatives and friends and to the officers in the Permanent Mission for their help, comments and assistance during the period of writing. I am particularly thankful to Mrs. C. Musadabwe-Lambart, Director, International Organisations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Muyambo Sipangule, Deputy Director, International Organisations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Moses Walubita, First Secretary, Zambian Mission, New York, for reading whole or sections of the drafts and make incisive comments. However, all errors of facts and judgement are mine alone.
This publication is dedicated to the memory of the late Ambassador Paul Lusaka who served with distinction at the United Nations.