Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In the 21st Century
The political shenanigans continued unabated at the start of the new millennium: in
mid-2001, Vice-President Christon Tembo was expelled from parliament by Chiluba, so
he formed an opposition party - the Forum for Democratic Development (FDD). Later,
Paul Tembo, a former MMD national secretary, joined the FDD but was assassinated the
day before he was due to front a tribunal about alleged MMD corruption.
Chiluba was unable to run for a third presidential term in December 2001 (though he
badly wanted to change the constitution so he could). He anointed his former vice-presid-
ent, Levy Mwanawasa, as his successor, but Mwanawasa only just beat a coalition of op-
position parties known as the United Party for National Development (UPND). Again, al-
legations from international observers about the MMD rigging the results and buying
votes fell on deaf ears. To Chiluba's horror, Mwanawasa stripped his predecessor of im-
munity from prosecution and proceeded to launch an anti-corruption drive, which targeted
the former president. In August 2009, after a long-running trial, Chiluba was cleared of
embezzling US$500,000 by Zambia's High Court. His wife, however, was not so lucky,
having been given a jail term earlier in the year for receiving stolen funds while her hus-
band was in office. In a separate case in 2007, the High Court in Britain ruled Chiluba and
four of his aides conspired to rob Zambia of about US$46 million, but it remains to be
seen whether this judgement will be enforced within Zambia.
Although Zambia remains a poor country, its economy experienced strong growth in
the early part of the 21st century with GDP growth at around 6%. However, the country is
still very dependent on the world prices of its minerals (copper and cobalt).
As well as combating global markets, natural disasters have played a significant role in
the country's fortunes. Although a bumper harvest was recorded in 2007, floods in 2008/
09 were declared a national disaster and killed dozens of people - the Zambezi River,
which flooded much of Western Zambia, was said to be at its highest level in 60 years,
and crops were severely affected.
Hardly publicised is Zambia's role as a host to refugees from political and ethnic con-
flicts in neighboring countries and others in the region, including Angola, Rwanda, Bur-
undi, the DRC and Somalia. In 2012, there were still over 40,000 refugees, primarily in
the Meheba and Mayukawayukwa camps in the northwestern province. Thousands of An-
golans and Rwandans who had been residing in the camps for years, many born there,
were repatriated by the United Nations High Comission for Refugees in 2011, and plans
are for a further reduction in numbers in 2012 and 2013.
