Katanga Province

Katanga Province
Province du Katanga
Former province of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Coordinates: 11°08′S 27°06′E / 11.133°S 27.100°E / -11.133; 27.100Coordinates: 11°08′S 27°06′E / 11.133°S 27.100°E / -11.133; 27.100
Country  Democratic Republic of the Congo
Established 1966 (1966)
Dissolved 2015 (2015)
Capital Lubumbashi
Largest city Lubumbashi
Area
 • Total 496,871 km2 (191,843 sq mi)
Population (2010 est.)
 • Total 5,608,683
 • Density 11/km2 (29/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Katangese
Official language French
National languages spoken Swahili
Website katanga.cd
Malachite specimen, showing the original botryoidal form & a polished face of the opposite half of the specimen Mines in the vicinity of Kolwezi supply much of the polishing-grade malachite in the world.
Another spectacular Malachite specimen from Katanga, on display at the Royal Ontario Museum.

Katanga was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba and Haut-Katanga provinces. Between 1971 and 1997 (during the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko when Congo was known as Zaïre), its official name was Shaba Province.

Katanga's area encompassed 497,000 km2. Farming and ranching are carried out on the Katanga Plateau. The eastern part of the province is considered a rich mining region, which supplies cobalt, copper, tin, radium, uranium, and diamonds. The region's former capital, Lubumbashi, is the second largest city in the Congo.

History

Copper mining in Katanga dates back over 1,000 years and mines in the region were producing standard sized ingots of copper for international transport by the end of the 1st Millennium AD.[1] In the 1890s the province was beleaguered by Cecil Rhodes from the South (Rhodes colonized Northern Rhodesia) and the Belgian Congo which was owned by King Leopold II. Msiri, the King of Katanga, held out against both but eventually Katanga was subsumed by the Belgian Congo.[2]

In 1960, after the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then called Republic of the Congo) had received independence from Belgium, Katanga attempted to secede from the country. This was supported by Belgium but opposed by the Congolese Prime Minister Lumumba. It led to the Katanga Crisis (or "Congo Crisis") which lasted from 1960 to 1965. The breakaway State of Katanga existed from 1960 to 1963.

Militias such as Mai Mai Kata Katanga led by Gédéon Kyungu Mutanga fought for Katanga to secede and his group briefly took over the provincial capital Lubumbashi in 2013.[3]

Following the implementation of the country's 2005 constitution,[4] in 2015 Katanga Province was split into the provinces of Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba and Haut-Katanga.[5][6]

Economy

Copper mining is an important part of the economy of Katanga province.[7] Cobalt mining by individual contractors is also prevalent. There are a number of reasons cited for the discrepancy between the vast mineral wealth of the province and the failure of the wealth to increase the overall standard of living. The local provincial budget was $440 million in 2011.[8][9]

Mining

Lubumbashi, the mining capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a hub for many of the country's biggest mining companies. The Democratic Republic of Congo produces "more than 3 percent of the world’s copper and half its cobalt, most of which comes from Katanga".[10]

Major mining concessions include Tilwezembe, Kalukundi.

Mining companies

Geography

The province formed the Congolese border with Angola and Zambia. The province also bordered Tanzania - although Katanga province and Tanzania did not share a land border - but the border was within Lake Tanganyika. Katanga has a wet and dry season. Rainfall is about 120 cm (49 in).[14]

Hills of Katanga

Education and medical care

The University of Lubumbashi, located in the northern part of Lubumbashi city, is the largest university in the province and one of the largest in the country. A number of other university-level institutions exist in Lubumbashi, some public, some private: Institut Supérieur de Statistique, Institut Supérieur Pédagogique, Institut Supérieur des Études Sociales, Institut Supérieur de Commerce, Institut Supérieur des Techniques Médicales (all state-run), Université Protestante de Lubumbashi (Korean Presbyterian), Institut Supérieur Maria Malkia (Catholic), Institut Supérieur de Développement Mgr Mulolwa (Catholique), Theologicum St François de Sales (Salesian seminary), Institut Supérieur de Théologie Évangélique de Lubumbashi (Pentecostal/Anglican/Brethren), etc. Université Méthodiste au Katanga, the oldest private university-level institution in the province, is located at Mulungwishi (between Likasi and Kolwezi) but organizes its Masters in Leadership courses in Lubumbashi. The University of Kamina, the University of Kolwezi and the University of Likasi are former branches of the University of Lubumbashi, which continues to have branches in some locations such as Kalemie.

TESOL, the English Language School of Lubumbashi, is a secondary school that serves the expatriate community. It was founded in 1987 on the grounds of the French School, Lycée Français Blaise Pascal, which suspended operations in 1991 with a new French School starting in 2009.[15]

There are French, Belgian and Greek schools in Lubumbashi sponsored by the respective embassies.

The Jason Sendwe Hospital is the largest hospital in the province, located in Lubumbashi. The Afia (Don Bosco) and Vie & Santé hospitals are among the best-equipped and staffed. The University of Lubumbashi maintains a small teaching hospital in the center of Lubumbashi.

Katanga province has the highest rate of infant mortality in the world, with 184 of 1000 babies born expected to die before the age of five.[16]

Provincial assembly building of Katanga in Lubumbashi

Transportation

The Congo Railway provides Katanga Province with limited railway service centered on Lubumbashi. Reliability is limited. Lubumbashi International Airport is located northeast of Lubumbashi. In April 2014, a train derailment killed 63 people.[17]

Media

Katanga province is served by television broadcasts. Radio-Télévision Nationale Congolaise (RTNC) has a transmitter in Lubumbashi that re-transmits the signal from Kinshasa. In 2005, new television broadcasts by Radio Mwangaza began in Lubumbashi.

Notable Katangese

See also

References

  1. ↑ The History of Central and Eastern Africa, Amy McKenna, 2011, pg. 9
  2. ↑ Crawford, Daniel. Thinking Black: 22 Years without A Break in The Long Grass of Central Africa, New York, George H. Doran, 1912
  3. ↑ "Katanga: Fighting for DR Congo's cash cow to secede". bbcnews.com. 11 August 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "Constitution de la République démocratique du Congo: Article 2". Wikisource.
  5. ↑ The National Assembly adopts the laws regarding the limits of the provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 10 January 2015. (French)
  6. ↑ Election of governors: definite results expected on 18 April, Radio Okapi, 27 March 2016. (French)
  7. ↑ "COPPER". congo-pages.org. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Katanga: le budget 2011 s'élève à 396 milliards de Francs congolais". Radio Okapi. 21 September 2010.
  9. ↑ The State vs. the People: Governance, mining and the transitional regime in the Democratic Republic of Congo (PDF) (Report). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa. 2006. ISBN 90-78028-04-1.
  10. ↑ Michael J. Kavanagh (23 March 2013). "Congolese Militia Seizes UN Compound in Katanga's Lubumbashi". Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  11. ↑ "History: dead link". Katanga Mining. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  12. ↑ Katanga Mining (Report).
  13. ↑ "An Independent Technical Report on the Material Assets of Katanga Mining Limited..." (PDF). SRK Consulting. 17 March 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  14. ↑ Katanga, or Shaba (province, Democratic Republic of the Congo) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  15. ↑ English-speaking School of Lubumbashi (TESOL), page from 2007, Internet Archive, Accessed 3 March 2013.
  16. ↑ "DR Congo eyes a greater share of its mineral riches". BBC News Online. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  17. ↑ "Scores killed in DR Congo train crash". Al-Jazeera. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
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