Bank of Zambia
Encyclopedia
Central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...
of Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
. According to its website, the principal responsibility of the bank is to create and implement monetary policy that will maintain the economic stability of the country.
The bank's offices are located in Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
.
History
The Bank of Zambia has origins in the 1938 formation of the Southern Rhodesia Currency Board, which was based in Harare, in present-day Zimbabwe. The Board's jurisdiction included Northern RhodesiaNorthern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
(present-day Zambia) and Nyasaland
Nyasaland
Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....
(present-day Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
).
In 1954 the Southern Rhodesia Currency Board was renamed the Currency Board of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and as the winds of change were strong in Africa at the time, the currency board was transformed into the Bank of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1956.
In 1964 the Bank of Zambia was created from the Bank of Northern Rhodesia, which itself had only formed a year earlier in 1963 from the Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
branch of the Rhodesia/Nyasaland bank.
After its creation, and after the passage of the Bank of Zambia Act in 1965, the bank grew and was successful down through the decades. According to its website, the bank acquired an equity stake in the Development Bank of Zambia and the Zambia National Commercial Bank
Zambia National Commercial Bank
Zambia National Commercial Bank, commonly referred to by the name "Zanaco", is a commercial bank in Zambia.-Overview:Zanaco is a large financial services provider in Zambia...
and was even considering diversifying into the agricultural sector.
In 1991, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy
Movement for Multiparty Democracy
The Movement for Multi-party Democracy is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past leader, Frederick Chiluba was president of the country...
(MMD) came to power in Zambia, replacing the United National Independence Party
United National Independence Party
The United National Independence Party is a political party in Zambia. It governed that country from 1964 to 1991 under the presidency of Kenneth Kaunda....
(UNIP) which had ruled for 27 years. The new government's fiscal priorities included liberalization and privatization, which included the Zambian copper industry and Zambian Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM), the big company that controlled copper production in Zambia.
See also
- Central banks and currencies of AfricaCentral banks and currencies of AfricaThere are two African currency unions associated with multinational central banks; the West African Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest and the Central African Banque des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale...
- Economy of ZambiaEconomy of ZambiaZambia is one of Sub-Saharan Africa's most highly urbanized countries. About one-half of the country's 11.5 million people are concentrated in a few urban zones strung along the major transportation corridors, while rural areas are under-populated. Unemployment and underemployment are serious...
- List of central banks
- Zambian kwachaZambian kwachaThe kwacha is the currency of Zambia. It is subdivided into 100 ngwee.-Etymology:The name derives from the Nyanja and Bemba word for "dawn", alluding to the Zambian nationalist slogan of a "new dawn of freedom"...
, the unit of currency