Darlington Mwendabai
17 September 2005
opinion
NO one ever thought a local Soli Village headman Lusaka, will have his name named after Zambia's capital city.
The name Lusaka according to the Solis means united forward, looking community or family, whose motto is, 'Prospice' a Latin word meaning looking to the future.
Genesis of Lusaka, a town perceived as the great city by many Zambians is fascinating with the determination of charting forward in all manner of economic and social development.
The city that was once a disheveled railway junction in the heart of a huge tropical forest of the Soli hinterland was a place to be a haven for the city dwellers in near future.
Great Lusaka creation becomes a reality in 1970 after its extension of its boundary from 93 square kilometers to 360 square kilometers.
Passion for power and acquiring mineral deposits in Africa, made Sir John Cecil Rhodes, former British empire builder with his British South Africa Company (BSAC), not only dreamt of constructing a rail line from Cape Town in South Africa to Cairo in Egypt but made the dream come true.
In 1905, the local people were treated to amazement of the latest mode of transport by railway line as the first train rolled the then city to be at a first station. Five years later, the railway line reached Ndola due to copper deposits at Bwana Mkubwa and at Nkana in 1911 that were available.
With the advent of the line of rail, planning was needed to foresee the infrastructure development and other developmental advancements.
Chilanga district then, was designated as the colonial administration Boma (British oversees Military Agency) while Lusaka the same year became a village management board.
Lusaka falls under senior chieftainess Nkomeshya's area whose palace is near Chalimbana In-Service Training College.
Sixteen years down the line, the great city became a Township management board and two years later in 1931, the Boma was shifted from Chilanga to Lusaka.
British colonial government in 1934 abolished North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia and created a one unitary system of government dubbed, 'the Northern Rhodesia Government'.
Livingstone was the capital city then but only for a year and Lusaka in 1935 became under the colonial governor Sir Huberty Young a capital city.
Lusaka grew faster than Ndola, however, remained a municipality 21 years after Ndola. Ndola was conferred with city status in 1966 while Lusaka in 1960.
The capital city was made the headquarters of the British South Africa Company that boosted and owned mineral rights bequeathed to it by then King Lewanika of the Barotseland protectorate, which was regarded a state within a state.
Over the years now, Lusaka had enjoyed unprecedented amenities befitting the status of a capital such as University Teaching Hospital and many modern Buildings like the Government complex. Not to measure about suburbs like Olympia Township had been be built for social and economical purposes.
The slogan now for the Lusaka dwellers including Government officials is, 'Zambia the real Africa' why? Peace and hospitality of Lusaka sends fragrance of the joy across the country and in return the Africa continent and other far flung nations now call Zambia a peaceful nation with beautiful people.
Anyway, not all is rose about the capital in areas of infrastructure development, which had made the city though great look ugly due to mushrooming of illegal structures.
The capital in its earlier plans was to expand outwardly not inwardly. The idea was to avoid shanty townships like Lilanda and Matero built between 1949 and 1951 as low cost residential areas.
The firth National Development Plan (NDP) had been put in Place by the New Deal Government of President Levy Mwanawasa to facilitate social-economic empowerment of Zambians to enhance development in the capital and the nation as a whole by 2030.
Acting Lusaka Permanent Secretary Paul Mkoma said in an interview that development planning was very cardinal for great Lusaka not only as capital but also as a province.
Mr Mkoma said it was anticipated that with the introduction of NDP, the planning process would be coordinated and focused to capture the comparative and compressive advantage of the districts to prioritise development resources.
A world class, economically strong, green, and friendly city by the year 2030 is the district's vision with the strategic focus on promoting community management, participation in planning, implementation and subsequently management of programmes and projects.
The capital city on social realities in the next five years stating from this year to 2011 would facilities constant touch with rapid shifting social realities-poverty, hunger, tribalism, unemployment and HIV/AIDS.
District development plan in its implementation would focus on integrated planning, rebuilding and upgrading the townships and informal settlements, planning for higher density land use and developments reforming the district land planning.
Mr Mkoma said once the plan had be incorporated into the NDP, the city by 2030 would have rolled over many of its social and economical development as the city cannot afford to lag behind in maintaining the call status as a city.
He said better planning of the city would address the much-needed social and economical empowerment of the poor and vulnerable and promote sustainable development, which would significantly reduce abject poverty, in the process, the city dwellers would have there lives improved for better.
The NDP is the progressive idea, but if the city dwellers fail to see the point of helping bring sanity to the capital in areas such as garbage collection and plot allocations, the city fathers like some engineers have observed would have no choice but to shift the city by the time the NDP is completed in 2030.
Over the years, Lusaka City Council (LCC) had and still labouring to maintain the green scenario Lusaka once had on the other hand, people are busy filling the city with all sort of garbage and putting up illegal structures.
In some cases, LCC have been watching hopeless as the city is being sandwiched with shanty townships in the name of Misisi, Chibolya, Garden, and Chaisa to name but a few.
Sadly, some people have not and perhaps would never love to see a great city become like New York City in America. If they want a great Lusaka, these people would not be flouting regulations by carving plots for themselves and start initiating illegal construction projects without going through the council or the ministry of Lands.
Governments since Dr Kenneth Kaunda's era to the currently New Deal Government of Levy Mwanawasa had seen and still sees the hindrances of coming up with a better city plan since the colonial days due to political interference by ruling part cadres.
As a result of this compromise by city authorities, illegal developers have by 2002 occupied the capital city's 100 hectares of land producing nothing but ugly structures that bores one to anger when challenged by foreigners to explain why the city has the ugliest structure around despite being independent 40 years ago.
Everyone knows that Government was committed to up grade the city with better structures like the Government complex but no one knows when who-be Government would practically and not verbally make the city far much better then America's most cherished haven New York City.
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