Mazabuka

The name Mazabuka originates from a Tonga local language word "kuzabuka" which means "To cross over the river". The name should have been "mwazabuka" which translates to "you have crossed". However, due assimilation, the name became "Mazabuka" which nonetheless translates to "you have crossed". It is believed that the name was coined after the Tonga people crossed the Kafue River near a place called Nanga during their migrations.^[1]

The town is located in Mazabuka District, in Zambia's Southern Province. The town lies on the south east edge of the Kafue Flats wetland, along the Lusaka–Livingstone Road. It is approximately 135 kilometres (84 mi), by road, southwest of Lusaka, the national capital and largest city.^[2] The geographical coordinates of Mazabuka are:15°50'48.0"S, 27°44'51.0"E (Latitude:-15.846667; Longitude:27.747500).^[3] Mazabuka sits at an average elevation of 1,067 metres (3,501 ft) above mean sea level.^[4]

The town has grown around sugar cane plantations, and currently it hosts the headquarters of Zambia Sugar, the largest sugar-manufacturing company in Zambia, with annual output in excess of 318,467 tonnes (351,050 tons) of crystalline sugar annually.^[5]

During World War II, 50 Polish refugees escaping from German- and Soviet-occupied Poland, were admitted in Mazabuka in 1941.^[6]

In 1990, the city had 24,596 people. In 2000, the town's population was 47,148 people. During the 2010 national census and household population survey, the city had 71,700 inhabitants.^[7] The table below illustrates the same data in tabular format.

While being on the Lusaka–Livingstone Road, Mazabuka is also connected to Lusaka in the north-east and Livingstone in the south-west by the Zambia Railways line.^[8][9]

Mazabuka is home to two well known day schools, among others, in the province. Both are grant aided schools run by the Roman Catholic missionaries. These are St Edmunds Secondary School and Mazabuka Girls Secondary School. The two have the highest enrollment of grade eights(G8) from all the primary schools. Musikili Primary School is a private boarding school for children between 5 and 13 years old. Flamboyant School, is a school for children with disabilities and is located on the outskirts of the town. It is operated by the Mazabuka Association for the Disabled.^[10]

Mazabuka is home to (a) Mazabuka Sugar Hospital for the management and staff of Zambia Sugar Plc^[11] and (b) Mazabuka General Hospital for the general public.^[12]

• Mizinga Melu, the Zambian businesswoman and bank chief executive who serves as the managing director and CEO of Absa Bank Zambia Plc, was born in Mazabuka.

• Stanley Fischer, an economist who served as Governor of the Central Bank of Israel, among others, was born on October 15, 1943, in Mazabuka.