The District

Background

Mitete District is one of the new districts in Western Province of Zambia which was declared a district by the Republican President in 2012. It was established by an order of the President No. 03 of 2012 and subsequently created by a Statutory Instrument No 103 of 2012 as a district to provide services to the communities within its boundaries.

However, the district only became operational in October, 2013. Mitete District is one of sixteen Districts that make up the Western Province. Mitete District was originally part of Lukulu District. Lukulu District had two constituencies, namely Lukulu East and Lukulu West. Lukulu West is what is now called Mitete District. The two districts are separated by the Zambezi. It is subdivided into, eleven (13) Wards, six Chiefdoms. The district has about Six thousand four hundred and forty-six (6,446) Households (CSO, 2010).

The District covers an area of approximately 6,380 Km² with a topography divided into two main features namely; upland (25 %) and the lowland (75%) and further the district is covered by rivers, swamps and plains.

Climate

The district experiences tropical savanna climate with three distinct seasons, hot dry season from Mid-August through October; a hot wet season from November through to March; and a warm dry season from April through early August. Mean maximum temperatures range from 15°C to 27°C but are typically around 24°C. The region experiences mean minimum temperatures of between 9°C and 15°C. Annual precipitations can vary significantly but is generally between 1000 to 15000mm. Data on rainfall, temperature and evaporation over the past 30 years’ period is 1975 to 2005 is presented below.

Rivers

Mitete district forms part of the Barotse Basin mostly covered by the Barotse plains and is flooded most of the year from December to July. The district is also traversed by rivers and streams and has many swamps and dambos. The main rivers in the district are the Zambezi River which is the boundary between Lukulu and Mitete district, Lungwevungu River which originates from Angola meanders through Mitete to join the Zambezi River. Lutembwe River also originates from Angola and joins Lungwevungu River. Luambimba River which originates from Kalambwe flows up to Muyondoti. Lueti River originates from Lungwevungu and flows into the Zambezi River.

Soils

The nature of soils in the district is largely sandy, loamy and clay in some parts. Due to vast sandy soils, accessibility to the district is largely hampered and floods further worsen the problem during the first half of every year.

Demography

The district has a population of about 39,641 as at 2022 census report that comprises of 19,332 Males and 20,309 Females and population density is about 6.214 persons per square kilo meters, and a population annual growth rate of about 3.1% from 2010 to 2022 according to the 2022 report on Census and Housing.

Ethnic composition

The main ethnic groupings in Mitete include Mbowe, Luvale, Liuwa, Mbumi, Kwandi, Umbe, Luyana, Makoma, Mbunda and Imilangu. The media of communication is Kololo language commonly known as Lozi spoken in the whole Western Province.

The vision of Mitete District is realizing the full potential of its natural resources to drive growth and productivity for poverty reduction, employment creation and sustainable economic growth

To equitably provide efficient, effective and sustainable quality services in order to improve standard of living and pro mote good governance in Mitete district.

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