Katanga Province

Infobox DRCongo Province
country = Democratic Republic of the Congo
native_name = Province du Katanga
common_name = Katanga
capital = Lubumbashi
largest_city = Lubumbashi
national_language = Swahili, Tshiluba
population_density = 8.30
population_estimate = 4 125 000
governor = Moïse Katumbi Chapwe


pop_year = 1998
area = 496 871
area_scale = 11
districts = 5
cities = 3
demonym = Katangan
website = http://www.katanga.cd




image_logo_size = 120px

Katanga is a southern province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province is to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009. Its regional capital is Lubumbashi (formerly Elisabethville in French, Elisabethstad in Dutch). Its area is 518,000 km² (larger than California and 16 times larger than Belgium, its former colonial ruler). Katanga has a population of about 4.1 million. Farming and ranching are carried out on the Katanga Plateau. The eastern part of the province is a rich mining region, which supplies cobalt, copper, tin, radium, uranium, and diamonds. The capital city, Lubumbashi, is the second largest city in the Congo.

In the past, Katanga has struggled significantly for independence from the rest of the country. In 2009, the name will survive only as Haut-Katanga, one of the four new provinces (see Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

History

Government

Moise Katumbi Chapwe, a businessman, is the governor of Katanga province. He took office on 24 February 2007. [ [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Congo-K_Provinces_1960-1966.html Provinces of Congo (Kinshasa) ] ]

Economy

Copper mining is an important part of the economy of Katanga province. [ [http://www.congo-pages.org/katart/copper.htm COPPER ] ] 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. [ [http://www.niza.nl/docs/200605081408554742.txt?&username=[e-mail]&password=9999&groups=NIZA&workgroup= THE STATE VS. THE PEOPLE GOVERNANCE, MINING AND THE TRANSITIONAL REGIME IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO] ] Gecamines is the state owned mining company which has monopoly concessions in the province.

Medical care

The Jason Sendwe Hospital is the largest hospital in the province. It is located in Lubumbashi.They are many private modern clinics at the moment like: Medicare...

Climate

Katanga has a wet and dry season. Rainfall is about 49 inches per year (120 cm). [ [http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-313150/Katanga Katanga, or Shaba (province, Democratic Republic of the Congo) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia ] ]

Geography

The province forms the Congolese border with Angola and Zambia. The province also borders Tanzania, although Katanga province and Tanzania do not share a land border but the border is within Lake Tanganyika.

Education

University of Lubumbashi is the largest university in the province and one of the largest in the country. The university is located in the northern part of Lubumbashi city. The Faculté Méthodiste de Théologie (FMT) is a Methodist seminary in province which is accredited within the university system.

TESOL, the English Language School of Lubumbashi is a secondary school that serves the expatriate community that was founded in 1987 on the grounds of the now defunct French School. [ [http://web.mac.com/hoovmoss/iWeb/TESOL/Home.html Home ] ]

Transportation

Katanga Province has limited railway service centered around Lubumbashi. Reliability is limited. The area also has an airport called Luano Airport which is located northeast of Lubumbashi.

Media

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

ee also

*Congo Free State
*Congo Pedicle
* Msiri

References

External links

* [http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/united_nations_congo.htm The United Nations and the Congo]
* [http://www.realityzone.com/katanga.html Katanga; The Untold Story (of U.N. betrayal)] 1960s Video about UN Involvement
* [http://www.fahnenkontor24.de/FOTW/flags/cd-ka.html#descr Meaning of flag]
* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Congo-K_Provinces_1960-1966.html#Katanga WorldStatesmen- Congo (Kinshasa)]
* [http://www.pjsymes.com.au/katanga.htm The Bank Notes of Katanga]
* [http://gov.edu.pl Government Katanga]
* [http://www.eldis.org/go/display/?id=16722&type=Document| Rush and Ruin: The Devastating Mineral Trade in Southern Katanga]

Katanga