All About Namwala



GEOGRAPHY

Covering an area of approximately 10,000 square kilometers, the rural district has an estimated population of some 91,000 people. Namwala town has a population of over 5,000 people. Other major settlement areas in the district are Kabulamwanda, Muchila, Maala, Mbeza and Chitongo.
 

90% of the population is rural based, of this 60% have access to either a borehole or well.

 Kafue River, Namwala, Zambia 

MAPS

Satellite/Road Map of Namwala Region
District Map of Southern Province
South West Zambia
Tribal Map of Zambia
Rainfall Map
Rivers and Lakes of Zambia
 

WEATHER

The District is charcterised by dry hot weather from September to October, warm to hot and rainy weather from November to April and cool to cold and windy weather from May to August. The annual range of rainfall is 800-1100 mm.

TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION

The reception from the national broadcaster is poor, but those with access to satellite dishes are able to get clear ZNBC reception, as well as DSTV.

There is telephone coverage from Zamtel (land lines only) although access is limited. Both Celtel and MTN, private cellular network providers, have coverage in the town and some of the District.

Buses leave Lusaka Inter-city terminus in the morning on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Buses leave Namwala Monday-Friday.

Full wireless broadband Internet connectivity is avaiable through the iConnect service.

 iConnect internet, Namwala, Zambia 

 PEOPLE

Lady carrying fish, Namwala High Street, Zambia The Ila people, the traditional inhabitants of Namwala District, engage mostly in cattle herding, fishing, hunting and subsistence farming. As a symbol of prestige, the traditional Ila do not routinely eat their cattle, but it is a major source of draught power.However, drought and disease have taken their toll on the cattle population.
 
The Ila are closely related in language and culture to their more numerous Tonga neighbours in Southern Province. The Ila speaking people of Zambia reside mainly in the administrative districts of Namwala, Itezhi-Tezhi and Mumbwa spread over seventeen chiefdoms.

 

AGRICULTURE
 
CULTURAL EVENTS

               Shimunenga

The Shimunenga Ceremony of the Ba-Ila people of Maala is celebrated on the weekend of the full moon in September or October. 
Early in the morning of the first day, people gather at the shrine of Shimunenga, where traditional songs are chanted. There is also a cultural march past of women and girls in traditional attire, after which people are treated to performances by traditional dancers.
On the following morning, the drum is sounded and animals are taken to the river, where cattle is displayed in the traditional manner. The first cattle to cross the river will be those of the custodian of the shrine. This is followed by a demonstration of a mock lion hunt and pelican fishing.
The occasion is marked with traditional songs in honour and praise of the Shimunenga ancestral spirits. Celebrations continue in the village with pit-stops for traditional beer at different places. The 2007 ceremony is scheduled to take place on October 20-21.

 

HEALTH

Namwala has a Government-run District Hospital based in the town centre. There is at least one clinic in each of the 12 wards.
 
HIV/AIDS
The Danish Embassy in December 2006 signed a US $ 250,000 grant towards HIV/AIDS support. The grant was to go towards: a CD counting machine; lymphocyte count machine and kidney analysis machine to 2 health centres; training of personnel in ART management; training of home-based care-givers and support groups; purchase 2 motorcycles and medical kits for home-based care-givers; rehabilitation of counseling and youth friendly rooms.
The district has an AIDS Task force. Some of the organisations involved HIV/AIDS prevention/treatment are:
NGOs - DAPP
           - ADRA
           - DAPP
CBOs - Tweende Baya
          - Muchila Hikalileke HIV/AIDS
           - Moobola HBC and HIV/AIDS
           - Kasenga Kalumino
FBOs   - NINGO (involves all churches)
CSOs   - NACINDI
-         FAWEZA
-         PPAZ
  Namwala town, Zambia
 

EDUCATION

 Pupils at Namwala School, Zambia Namwala town has both a high school (1400 boarding pupils) and a basic school (2000 pupils). There are a number of further schools in the district, and, as in many parts of the country, more are needed. The Namwala development vision is to raise the literacy levels from 65% to 85% by 2030. The shortage of classrooms is being supplemented by community schools, although these are sometimes built with temporary materials and in some cases are grass thatched. There is also shortage of qualified teachers. Namwala School, Zambia 

 

DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION

Namwala District has one parliamentary constituency, which is divided into 12 wards. The district has four chiefs namely: His Royal Highness Chief Muchila, His Royal Highness Chief Mukobela, His Royal Highness Chief Mungaila and His Royal Highness Chief Nalubamba.Population distribution according to the 2002 census of housing and population

  

WARD
NO.
WARD NAME
MALES
FEMALES
TOTAL
HOUSEHOLDS
1
Baambwe
1,411
1,463
2,874
525
2
Chitongo
2,049
2,127
4,176
553
3
Kabulamwanda
2,236
2,348
4,584
629
4
Kaluweza/Ngabo
2,725
2,774
5,499
927
5
Kantengwa
2,402
2,216
4,618
806
6
Maala
2,616
2,760
5,376
824
7
Mbeza
1,377
1,381
2,758
427
8
Moobola
6,096
6,578
12,674
1,797
9
Nakamboma
9,281
9,843
19,124
2,569
10
Namakube
4,518
4,796
9,314
1,220
9
Namwala Central
2,736
2,796
5,532
977
12
Ndema
3,039
3,442
6,281
821
 
 
40,486
42,324
82,810
12,075

  
The district is headed by the District Commissioner, currently Ms Eunice Nawa, who coordinates Government and developmental activities. 
The 19 government departments found in Namwala are: Office of the President, Health, Education, Fisheries, Agriculture, Forestry, Water Affairs, Veterinary, Community Development, Social Welfare, National Registration, Buildings, Roads, Police, Prisons, Judiciary, Central Statistics, Marketing and Cooperatives. 
   
There are seven parastatal organisations. They are: Zesco, Zambia National Commercial Bank(ZANACO), Zambia Postal Services Limited (ZAMPOST), Zambia Telecommunication Limited (ZAMTEL), Engineering Services Cooperation (ESCO), Southern Water and Sewerage Company (SWSC) and Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA).
 
There are also a number of Non Governmental Organisations present in the district. Among them are: Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia (PPAZ), Namwala District Women’s Association (DWA), Red Cross society, District Water Sanitation Helath Education (D-Washe), Forum for Women Educationists (FAWEZA), Namwla Farmer Association (NFA) and Fishermen’s Association of Namwala and Water-Aid Zambia.
 
These organisations are coordinated the District Development Coordination Committee (DDCC) which is chaired by the District Administrator. The District Council through the Council secretary is the secretariat, which is located in Namwala Boma
 

The Namwala District Development Plan 2006-2010, with a total proposed budget of K528,217 billion, has been developed. Its vision  is ‘A haven of abundance for Zambia by 2030’ with the focus of the development plan on wealth creation, with specific attention given to the improvement of the road, transport network, health, education, agriculture and the prevention of HIV/AIDS. In addition, cross-cutting issues such as gender, environment and governance are also covered.

PARLIAMENTARY OFFICE

In keeping with the vision for a healthy and vibrant democracy, the National Assembly of Zambia has embarked on a Parliamentary Reform Programme to increase its independence and effectiveness as an agent of oversight, change and reform in the democratic governance system of Zambia.The reform programme also seeks to make the National Assembly more open and accessible to the public. Debates can be heard on line at www.parliament.gov.zm when Parliament is in session.
 
The establishment of the Namwala Constituency Office is part of the on-going programme to improve the links between Members of Parliament with their Constituents. The office in located in the Council building, in Namwala.
 
The current Member of Parliament is Robbie Chizyuka (UPND).
 
To view the 2002 to 2006 report, in PDF format, from the former MP (Ompie Nkumbula-Liebenthal) click on one of the links below:
 

DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The full District Development Plan, covering 2006 to 2010 can be downloaded in PDF format: