Zambia: Political System
According to CANCERMATTERS.NET, Zambia is a presidential republic in the Commonwealth. The unicameral parliament (the National Assembly) consists of 159 members, 150 of whom are elected every five years and nine more are appointed. In addition, there is the House of Chiefs with 27 representatives from ethnic groups. At the head of the executive is the president, who is directly elected for five years and also acts as the commander in chief of the armed forces. A one-time re-election is possible. The President appoints the Prime Minister. See AbbreviationFinder for more information about Zambia politics, and acronyms as well.
The official name of the country is:
| Republic of Zambia |
National anthem
Lumbanyeni Zambia has been the national anthem of Zambia since 1964. The text is a joint product. The music was composed by Enoch Mankayi Sontonga, it is identical to the melody of “God Bless Africa”, which is very popular in southern Africa and has served as an anthem in various other countries, it is also included in the current national anthem of South Africa.
In English
| In English | In German |
| Stand and sing of Zambia, proud and free,Land of work and joy in unity,
Victors in the struggle for the right, We have won freedom’s fight. All one, strong and free. Africa is our own motherland, Fashion’d with and blessed by God’s good hand, Let us all her people join as one, Brothers under the sun. All one, strong and free. One land and one nation is our cry, Dignity and peace ‘neath Zambia’s sky, Like our noble eagle in its flight, Zambia, praise to thee. All one, strong and free. CHORUS Praise be to God. Praise be, praise be, praise be, Bless our great nation, Zambia, Zambia, Zambia. Free men we stand Under the flag of our land. Zambia, praise to thee! All one, strong and free. |
Stand up and sing for Zambia, proud and free,land of work and joy, united,
victorious in the fight for justice, we have won the fight for justice. All together, strong and free. Africa is our motherland, created and blessed by God’s hand, let us unite all its peoples, brothers under the sun. All together, strong and free. A country and a nation is our reputation, dignity and peace under Zambia’s sky, like our noble eagle in flight, Zambia, we praise you. All together, strong and free. Refrain Praise be to God. Praised, praised, praised. Bless our great nation, Zambia, Zambia, Zambia. As free people we stand under the flag of our country. Zambia, be praised! All together, strong and free. |
National flag
The national flag of Zambia was officially introduced on October 24th. Animal lovers will be interested to know that the African fish eagle is Zambia’s heraldic animal. Based on flag descriptions by Countryaah.com, the colors of the flag have the following symbolic meaning:
– Green symbolizes the fields and forests of the country
– orange symbolizes the local mineral treasures, especially the copper
– black stands for the skin color of the population
– red is reminiscent of the blood spilled in the struggle to achieve freedom
- Check top-mba-universities for public holidays, sports events, UNESCO world heritage sites and major places to visit in Zambia.
Zambia: Known People
Rupiah Bwezani Banda ‘ (born 1937)
The Zambian politician, born in today’s Zimbabwe, served as President of Zambia from 2008 to 2011. In this role he completes the official business of Mwanawasa, who died on August 19, 2008 of complications from a stroke. Before that, Banda ‘was his country’s (first) foreign minister from 1975 to 1976. His successor from 2011 to 2014 was Michael Sata (1937-2014)
Blaaze (born 1975)
The rap artist and playback singer in Indian films, born in 1975 as Lakshmi Narasimha Vijaya Rajagopal Seshadri Sharma Rajesh Raman in Chennai, India, grew up in Zambia.
Felix Bwalya (1970-1997)
The boxer from Zambia, who died in Lusaka in 1997, competed for his country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
Frederick Chiluba (born 1943)
Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba studied, among other places, in the USA and was the second president of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. After he and his party “Movement for Multiparty Democracy” (MMD) had won against Kenneth Kaunda in 1991, he promised the country to improve the economy through privatization and to stimulate foreign investment. In fact, many companies were privatized, which, contrary to all expectations, drove the people deeper into unemployment and poverty.
Towards the end of Chiluba’s first term in 1996, the people called for new elections; However, Chiluba passed constitutional amendments shortly before the elections that resulted in former President Kenneth Kaunda and other prominent opposition leaders being banned from the election. Chiluba was re-elected while UNIP supporters boycotted the election. After the elections, numerous voices from other parties as well as NGOs were heard calling for new elections, many refusing to recognize Chiluba’s second term. In 2001 the supporters of Chiluba tried to change the constitution again so that he could take up a third term, but now the external pressure on the president became too strong. In the December 2001 elections, Levy Mwanawasa was the MMD’s presidential candidate.
The party won the elections, the opposition parties spoke of serious irregularities, but Mwanawasa remained in office.
Chiluba had changed its initially socialist policy to a capitalist one and left a difficult legacy to his successor. He is still given great credit for having managed to negotiate an agreement for neighboring Congo during his tenure, but he failed to stop crime in Zambia. In the eyes of many Zambians, Chiluba left the State House a richer man than before, while Zambia had become an even poorer country.
Kenneth Kaunda (born 1924)
Kenneth Kaunda was the first President of the independent Republic of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was initially a teacher in Lubwa, and in 1947 he was elected Minister of the “Chinsali Young Men’s Farming Association”. With his help, a department for the province of Lubwa was established in the National Congress in 1950. He was jailed several times for political reasons from 1954. The ZANC party of which he was a member eventually became the United National Independence Party (UNIP), and Kaunda was elected President. In 1962 UNIP won 14 seats in the Legislative Assembly and Kaunda was made Minister of Social Welfare in the local government. In 1964, UNIP finally won the presidential election and Kaunda built the new government.
Kaunda was re-elected several times as part of the one-party state of Zambia, and in 1991 there was finally an opposition party headed by Frederick Chiluba. Kaunda lost to him in 1991 and from then on slowly withdrew from politics, although he tried again in 1996 to get the presidency. Today Kaunda devotes his time to development aid and the fight against AIDS.
Robert Earnshaw (born 1981)
In 1981 in Mufulira, Zambia, Robert Earnshaw, who would later become an important Welsh footballer, was born in Mufulira, Zambia. He currently plays for the English football club Nottingham Forest.
Christopher Katongo (born 1982)
The soccer player, who was born in Mufulira, Zambia, worked for a long time as a striker for Skoda Xanthi and for the Zambian national team.
Robert John “Mutt” Lange (born 1948)
Lange was also born in Mufulira, Zambia. The British record producer first made a name for itself in the 1970s when it helped create the AC/DC album Highway to Hell. But later he also produced greats like Bryan Adams, Billy Ocean and Michael Bolton.
Samuel Matete (born 1968)
The former Zambian athlete from Chingola, Zambia, achieved an Olympic medal in the course of his career.
Jacob Mulenga (born 1984)
Jacob Mulenga was born in Kitwe in Zambia. The soccer player is currently playing as a striker for FC Utrecht. Of course he also plays in the Zambian national team.
Levy Mwanawasa (born 1948)
Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was born the second child of 10 into a family in Mulifira, Zambia. He graduated from the University of Zambia with a law degree and initially worked in private law firms; In 1978 he founded his own law firm: “Mwanawasa & Company”. He was appointed Solicitor General of the Republic of Zambia in 1985 (Second Crown Prosecutor; Senior State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice), but returned to his office the following year. He was a senior partner there until 1992, but then became Vice President of Zambia in 1991. He held this office until 1994, but then resigned and cited the corruption within the leadership of the government as the reason. After trying unsuccessfully to become a presidential candidate for the MMD in 1996, he initially withdrew from politics. In 2001 he was elected President of Zambia with the MMD. There should also have been irregularities in this election, the court hearings lasted until 2004. After taking office, Levy Mwanawasa encouraged the Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate Chiluba’s government carefully, and Chiluba is now being tried in numerous court cases.
Kennedy Mweene (born 1984)
The Zambian soccer player from Lusaka is a goalkeeper for the Free State Stars in the South African Premier Soccer League, but also an active player in his country’s national team.
Zeddy Saileti (born 1969)
The former Zambian soccer player and coach is currently in charge of the RoPS Youth Academy, which is headquartered in Kitwe. As an excellent scorer, Saileti also took part in the 1994 African Nations Cup when his team made it to the final.
Michael Sata (born 1937)
The Zambian politician, who was born in Mpika in 1937, was considered one of Mwanawasa’s fiercest competitors and critics.
Andrew Mutambo Sinkala (born 1979)
One of Zambia’s most famous soccer players, Andrew Sinkala, was born in 1979 in Chingola, Zambia. The athlete is currently playing for FC Augsburg and also plays in the Zambian national team.
Moses Sichone (born 1977) In
1977 the now well-known Zambian soccer player Moses Sichone was born in Mufulira. He has both Zambian and German citizenship. Sichone is currently playing for FC Carl Zeiss Jena.
Wilbur Addison Smith (born 1933)
The British writer, who was born in Broken Hill, what is now Zambia, published his first novel in 1964: When the Lion feeds. Many of his books belong to certain series named after the families that appear in them. Among his most famous novels are Der Sonnenvogel. Smith is accused of sexism, racism, and unpretentiousness by his critics.
Zambia: animals
Mammals
African buffalo
The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) – also known as Cape buffalo – belongs to the genus Syncerus in the family of horned buffalo (Bovidae). The animals are found in eastern and southern Africa. The Asian water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) are also known.
African elephants
The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest land mammal.
It belongs to the genus of African elephants (Loxodonta) in the elephant family. The Asian elephants and the smaller forest elephants native to Africa also belong to this family.
Bear
baboons The bear baboon (Papio ursinus) – also called Tschakma – is a primate species from the genus of baboons (Papio), in the tribe baboon-like (Papionini) in the family of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecidae). The animals have a head trunk length up to 115 cm with a tail up to 70 cm long and a weight of 15 to 30 kg. This makes them the largest and heaviest baboon species, with the males being significantly larger and heavier than the females with also longer canine teeth.
Unlike the other baboon species, they have no mane on their shoulders and front back. The fur of the animals is colored dark brown or gray on the upper side, while the underside is lighter. Their hands and feet are mostly blackish. The long and hairless snout is dark purple or black in color.
Bear baboons can be found in Zambia, Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and the Republic of South Africa. They live in steppes and savannahs as well as in open forest areas, but water must be available.
Hippos
The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) – also known as hippopotamus – is a species from the genus (Hippopotamus) in the family of the hippos (Hippopotamidae). The animals, which weigh more than 4,000 kg, are pure herbivores.
Giraffes
Giraffes can be found in the savannahs of Africa south of the Sahara. The four different species with approx. 12 subspecies belong to the genus Giraffa in the giraffe-like family (Giraffidae). The reticulated giraffes (Giraffa reticulata) are certainly particularly well known.
A giraffe bull can reach a height of about 6 m – with a weight of up to 1,600 kg. The animals are pure herbivores, whereby they prefer the leaves of the acacia trees. The subspecies Thornicroft giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis thornicrofti) is native to Zambia.
A detailed representation of the giraffes can be found here >>>
Lions
The lion (Panthera leo) is the largest big cat in the world. Unlike other cats, the animals live and hunt in packs. The animals can be found in a number of countries south of the Sahara in Africa as well as in the Indian state of Gujarat.
A detailed representation of the lion can be found here >>>
Leopard
The leopard (Panthera pardus) is a big cat belonging to the genus of the actual big cats (Panthera) in the family of cats (Felidae), which are common in Africa and Asia. The animals can also be found in the Caucasus. Leopards are lions tigers and jaguars are the fourth largest big cat.
Warthogs
The warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) forms together with the desert warthog the genus of warthogs (Phacochoerus) in the family of real pigs (Suidae). The animals can be found in large parts of Africa. A detailed representation of the warthog can be found here >>>
Zebras
Under zebras one understands the three kinds Grevy’s zebra (Equus grevyi), mountain zebra (Equus zebra) and the plains zebra (Equus quagga) from the kind of horses (Equus). The plains zebra, which has stripes of different widths, is native to Zambia. In contrast, the mountain zebra has wide stripes and the Grevy’s zebra different widths. A detailed representation of the zebra can be found here >>>
Reptiles
Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus)
You can find a detailed description of the Nile crocodile here >>>
African house snake
The African house snake (Boaedon fuliginosus) is a non-toxic species of snake, of which there are six subspecies. Their males are 60 to 80 cm and the females 80 to 100 cm.
African spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis)
Angola cobra (Naja anchietae)
The snake reaches an average length of about 1.20 m – it rarely becomes longer. Like practically all cobras, it has a strong neurotoxic poison that can lead to paralysis or even respiratory failure.
Brown house snake (Boaedon capensis)
The brown house snake – also known as the Cape house snake – is non-toxic.
It is usually dark brown, olive green, or even almost black. The snake may have a side stripe that runs along its flanks and often resembles the links of a chain. Like all domestic snakes, it is iridescent – its scales often glow with an oily sheen in a certain light. The females are about 120 cm and the males up to about 75 cm long
Boomslang (Dipholidus typus)
Christy’s water cobra (Naja christyi)
This cobra is also known as the Congolese water cobra. Its tail reaches an average length of around 1.50 m – rarely more. They can be found in or near bodies of water, in bushy or wooded lowland areas along lakes, rivers and streams.
Banded cobra (Naja annulifera)
Banded water cobra (Naja annulata)
Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica)
Horned puff adder (Bitis caudalis)
Common puff adder (Bitis arietans)
Jamesons mamba (Dendroaspis jamesoni)
As a rule, the very venomous Jamesons mamba grows to around 2 m long – in rare cases over 3 m. She is slim and very agile. They are green-yellow to grass-green in color, while the throat, belly and temples are lemon-yellow. Lighter and darker spots form indistinct, backward running transverse bands. The Jamesons Mamba is tree and ground dwelling. They are mainly found in rainforests and in humid and warm forests on river banks. But they can also be found near human settlements, on farmlands, and in urban parks.
Mozambique spitting cobra (Naja mossambica)
Rhinoceros viper (Bitis nasicornis)
Black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis)
Black and white cobra (Naja melanoleuca)
Shreve`s tree snake (Dipsadoboa shrevei)
This non-poisonous snake can be found in Zambia in the Democratic Republic of Konko, the Republic of Congo and Angola. It can reach a length of up to 1.50 m, but is usually much smaller. The tree-dwelling and nocturnal snake lives in gallery forests, damp savannahs with light forests.
South African python (Python natalensis)
The South African python – also known as the natal python – is a large, non-poisonous strangler snake.
Western keeled snake (Pythonodipsas carinata)
The western keeled snake is a nocturnal snake about 50 cm (females) and 30 cm (males) and the only species of the genus Pythonodipsas. It is relatively rare and prefers dry savannahs and gravel plains.
Birds
Helmet guinea fowl
The helm guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) belongs to the genus Numida in the family of guinea fowl (Numididae). The animals reach a length between 55 to 66 cm – with a weight of 1.2 to 1.6 kg. The females are slightly smaller than the roosters. The head and neck of the animals are largely feathered. Their name comes from the horn-colored helmet. Their plumage is blackish-gray and patterned with numerous white speckles. The species has nine subspecies, of which the subspecies Numida meleagris mitrata occurs in Zambia.
Saddle storks
The stork stork belongs to the genus of large storks (Ephippiorhynchus) in the family of storks (Ciconiidae. The animals can be up to 145 cm long, with a wingspan of up to 250 cm.
The upturned beak is colored red-black-red. Part of the top – the saddle – is yellow. The color of the wings and the neck and head black, otherwise white. The long and thin legs are gray with pink knees and feet. The animals need large wetlands to live, such as swamps, flood plains and the silting areas of shallow lakes.
Zambia: plants
A large part of Zambia consists of steppe highlands where agriculture is practiced. The predominant non-agricultural vegetation is bush and tree savannah. Visitors are often impressed by the majestic tree species – including various types of acacia, baobabs, thorn bushes and tall grass.
In the north of Zambia there is dense, almost primeval forest-like vegetation, while the drier southern regions are increasingly sparsely vegetated. In the seemingly endless grasslands of the savannah, individual huge trees rise again and again.
