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Concept
Kitwe
Summary
Kitwe is the third largest city in terms of infrastructure development (after Lusaka and Ndola) and second largest city in terms of size and population (after Lusaka) in Zambia. With a population of 517,543 (2010 census provisional) Kitwe is one of the most developed commercial and industrial areas in the nation, alongside Ndola and Lusaka. It has a complex of mines on its north-western and western edges.
Kitwe is located in the Copperbelt Province and is made up of townships and suburban areas including Parklands, Riverside, Buchi, Chimwemwe, Kwacha, Nkana East, Nkana West, Garneton, Ndeke, Miseshi, Wusakile, Mindolo, Chachacha and Race Course, to mention a few. The city is sometimes referred to as Kitwe-Nkana. Nkana is derived from the name of Senior Chief Nkana of the Lamba speaking people of the Copperbelt province. His area covers the towns of Kitwe, Mufulira, Kalulushi-Chibuluma and Chambishi.
Kitwe has both private and public schools which include Lechwe School, Mpelembe Secondary School, Kitwe Boys Secondary School, Parklands Secondary School, Mukuba Secondary School, Nkana Trust School and Helen Kaunda Secondary School. It is also home to Zambia's second highest learning institution, namely The Copperbelt University.
The name Kitwe comes from the Lamba word Ichitwe (a big head), because long before the industrialisation took place the inhabitants of this place the Lambas found a head of the dead elephant. The town of Kitwe is part of Chief Nkana's area. The Lambas were misplaced when the mining actitivities commenced in this part of the Lambaland in the 1930s.
Kitwe was founded in 1936 in north-central Zambia as the railway was being built by Cecil Rhodes' company. It was first established as an adjunct, non-mining-related but supportive part of an expanding copper-mining centre at Nkana. The expanding copper mines at Nkana made it the dominant centre in the region and Kitwe started building up its size and significance over the years, finally surpassing Nkana as the main centre.
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