 This 1983: Doomsday page is a Proposal.
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| |||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Lusaka | ||
| Language official |
English | ||
| others | Chewa, Bemba, Lunda, Tonga, Lozi, Luvale, Kaonde, Nyanja | ||
| Area | 752,618 km² | ||
| Established | From UK: 24th October 1964 | ||
Pre-Doomsday
The earliest inhabits of Zambia were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. In the 12th century, Bantu speakers started settling in the area. The Portuguese explorer Francisco José Maria de Lacerda was the first European to reach Zambia. However, Zambia was colonized by the British, instead of the Portuguese. Zambia gained independence in 1964 as a multiparty state. However, Zambia became a single party state in 1972 .The first president of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda embarked on an socialist economic program designed to make Zambia prosperous and self-sufficient. This program worked for a while. Zambia’s highly nationalized economy took a dive in the early 70’s.This was mainly due to the fact the price of Zambia’s number one export (copper) had fallen. By the 1980’s Zambia had a huge debt and was dependent on loans from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.These poor economic conditions lead to several strikes.
Post-Doomsday
The loss of foreign aid after doomsday made Zambia’s already bad economy worse. This led to a series of anti-government protests. Kenneth Kaunda responded to these protests by ordering the military to crack down on the public. Although, this tactic ended up causing more turmoil, Kaunda remained resolute. However, many members of the National Assembly believed negotiations with the public to be essential to ensure national stability. However, the National Assembly was powerless make reforms because the Zambian constitution gave Kaunda all the real power. Eventually the National Assembly decided that Kaunda needed to be removed from power. In January 1987 the National Assembly overthrew Kaunda with the help of General Christon Tembo.
Transition to multiparty democracy
Government
Zambia is a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Zambia is both head of state and head of government. The constitution which made Zambia a multiparty state also enlarged the National Assembly from 136 members to a maximum of 158 members, and established an electoral commission.
Political Parties
Parties represented in the National Assembly
|
Name |
MPs |
Ideology |
|
Alliance for Democracy and Development |
1 |
|
|
Forum for Democracy and Development |
1 |
|
|
Republican Union |
55 |
Social democracy |
|
Patriotic Front |
60 |
Democratic socialism |
|
United Party for National Development |
28 |
Liberalism |
Note the Republican Union is essentially the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy founded 4 years earlier and with a different name.
Other parties
Union Party
The Union Party is a relatively new single issue party. Their goal is for Zambia to unite with North Zimbabwe and Malawi into a state called the Mutapa Coalition. They areaffiliated with, the Malawi,based The Coalition Party.
Economy
After Doomsday, trade was limited to a regional scale. Trade became increasingly erratic as Zambia’s neighbors descended into civil war. During the early 90’s, trade and Zambia’s neighbors started to stabilize. Still, international trade was slow until president Levy Mwanawasa signed trade deals with North Zimbabwe, Malawi and Namibia. Since then Zambia’s copper industry has regained a small portion of its former glory. Agriculture also plays a very important part in Zambia's economy. Zambeef Products Ltd. is the leading agri-business in Zambia. Zambeef operates five abattoirs, four farms, numerous retail outlets, and a fast-food chain (ZamChick Inn) throughout the country.
Transportation
Zambia has a Ramshackle, yet still serviceable network of railways. Zambian trains can reach Katanga though the Ndola to Sakania line. Zambian railways are also connected to South Zimbabwe via the Victoria Falls Bridge to Bulawayo route. Currently, there is no rail access to Malawi, but there are plans to build a railroad between Chipata and Mchinji . Zambia once had a link to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam via the TAZARA Railway. The TAZARA Railway is no longer in use since portions of track have been ruined during the anarchic period in Tanzania.
International Relations
Zambia has strong ties with North Zimbabwe,Katanga and Malawi . Zambia also has trade and diplomatic connections with the Republic of Angola ,south Zimbabwe,Mozambique, Namibia, New Britain ,and several of the Tanzanian breakaway states. Recently, Zambia is planning to open diplomatic channels with the formerly isolationist Republic of Botswana.