Mansa
Coordinates: 11 ° 12 ′ S , 28 ° 53 ′ E
Mansa is the capital of the Luapula Province in Zambia . It is around 1150 meters above sea level and has 42,280 inhabitants (2004). It is the seat of the administration of the district of the same name with 179,749 inhabitants (2000 census).
Transport links
An asphalt country road leads from Lusaka via Serenje to Mansa (840 kilometers). A shorter connection with the Zambian capital runs through the Copperbelt and the area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and has a length of 600 kilometers. The road in the DR Congo has been paved throughout since about 2008, the border river Luapula at the northern border crossing has to be crossed on a bridge since about 2009. There are bus connections from Mansa in different directions. There is a paved runway for smaller aircraft around five kilometers north of Mansa.
economy
There is a daily market in Mansa itself. Only a few supermarkets also offer non-local goods. A gas station, several hotels, a post office, ZamTel (telephone company) and a battery factory are available on site. 70 kilometers west of Mansa near Matanda there are five million tons of high-quality limestone, as used in agriculture. Other occurrences are close to Bukanda.
About 10 km north of Mansa, a manganese ore deposit was exploited in open-cast mining until the 1980s. In 2007, further manganese ore deposits were found around Mansa, some of which began to be extracted in 2009. The ore is partly processed on site and partly used in a local factory to manufacture batteries.
Educational institutions
In addition to several elementary schools, the Mansa Teachers Training College (MTTC) and St. Clement's Secondary School exist in the city .
Surroundings
The landscape around the city is slightly hilly (typical Dambo landscape). There is hardly any forest near the city, as it is mainly used as firewood or is processed into charcoal. At a greater distance there is the typical Miombo hardwood forest.
Attractions
The sights are further away, but Mansa is the starting point for reaching them. The Bangweulusee with adjacent huge marshland near Samfya (approx. 80 km east) is a bird paradise and offers boat tours for visitors.
About 45 km north of Mansa (towards Mwense) is Musonda Falls, where there is a hydroelectric power station on a tributary of the Luapula. If the water level is sufficiently high (around December to July), electricity is fed into the national grid from here.
language
The local language is Cibemba , which is mainly spoken by the local population of the Aushi / Ushi people.
See also
- For a map with all districts and provinces see: Administrative division of Zambia
