Mwinilunga is a town in the North-Western Province of Zambia and headquarters of a district of that name. It lies on the West Lunga River, not far from the borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. North-Western Province is one of Zambias nine provinces. ...

Overview

The town had a population estimated at 14,500 in 2006. The Chilunda-speaking Kanongesha-Lunda people are the largest ethnic group, and are related to the Chibemba-speaking Kazembe-Lunda of Luapula Province. Lunda, also known as Chilunda, is a Bantu language (of the larger Niger-Congo family) that is spoken in Angola and, to a lesser extent, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... Bemba, also known as Chibemba and Ichibemba, is a Bantu language that is spoken primarily in Zambia but is also spoken in surrounding countries. ... The Lunda people of the Luapula River valley in Zambia and DR Congo are called by others the Eastern Lunda to distinguish them from the western Lunda people who remained in the heartland of the former Lunda Kingdom, but they themselves would use Kazembe-Lunda to make that distinction. ...

The town's elevation is 1387 m and it is one of the wettest places in Zambia with annual rainfall of about 1400 mm falling in the rainy season from October to May. The town is also home to a small airport.

Schools

Mwinilunga Secondary School, is the largest school to date in town, 1985-1987 Tresford Kampinda Tungati was one of the studends to study at this school, followed by kingston Mwamba Tungati 1994 era, Festus Nkandu Tungati 1999 era and lastely Jeff Mulenga 2001 era.

Industry

Attempts have been made to establish industries in the town such as the TIKA Iron and Steel plant and the pineapple cannery. Neither were commercially successful and have closed due to the distance of the town from the markets of the Copperbelt and the lack of a railway and source of coking coal for the TIKA plant.^[1] The Copperbelt is a province of Zambia which is very rich in mineral deposits. ...

Plans were formulated in in 2006 to extend the proposed railway to Solwezi to the town and even on to the Benguela Railway in Angola to avoid reliance on the line in the DR Congo, but these plans have not been confirmed and the Benguela Railway has not been re-opened. // Total: 2,164 km (1995) Railtracker (ACIS/UNCTAD) Zambia Railway Network Diagram Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) — 1. ... Solwezi is the capital of the North Western Province of Zambia. ... The Benguela railway is a railroad operated by the Caminho de Ferro de Benguela that connects the Atlantic port of Lobito, Angola, to the railroad systems of Katanga province, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia. ... The Democratic Republic of the Congo, called Zaïre between 1971 and 1997, is a nation in central Africa. ...

Mwinilungu ought to benefit from trade with Angola and DR Congo (which both have considerable Lunda populations too) but wars, poor road conditions and various trade policies between the countries have so far prevented trade developing.

Forest Fruits Ltd. has been operating in Mwinilunga since 1997, successfully working with over 5000 beekeepers in the region to export organic honey to the European market.

There is much work investigating the possibility of nearby copper and uranium deposits. Such mines already exist in various location along the highway between Solwezi and Mwinilunga.

Tourism

The annual Chisemwa cha Lunda ceremony held by Senior Chief Kanongesha of the Lunda draws crowds to the district every September.^[2]

Mwinilunga lies south east of the rainforest Nchila Wildlife Reserve, known for its sable antelope and other large mammals, Luakela Forest Reserve and the Chitunta Plain, known for its birdlife and as the source of the Zambezi River. For the novel, see Rainforest (novel). ... Binomial name Hippotragus niger Harris, 1838 The Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger) is an antelope that inhabits wooded savannah in East Africa south of Kenya, and in Southern Africa. ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Zambezi River in North Western Zambia The Zambezi (also spelled Zambesi) is a river in Southern Africa. ...

Pathway Between the Old and New Market

Maps

• FallingRain Map

References

1. ^ Times of Zambia website: Julius Kaoma: "Why steel, iron are key to national development", accessed 1 March 2007.
2. ^ Times of Zambia website accessed 1 March 2007

Coordinates: 11°45′30″S, 24°25′45″E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...