Economic Restructuring in the Zambian Copperbelt: Local Responses in Ndola

Abstract

Since 2002, Zambia has experienced a decentralisation of powers from central government to local level. Accompanying this shift towards decentralisation, local economic development (LED) planning emerged in several urban centres. The aim in this article is to examine one facet of emerging LED planning in Zambia, analysing local responses towards economic restructuring of Copperbelt Province. The specific focus is the city of Ndola, which experienced economic decline from the early 1990s. The paper highlights the weaknesses and limitations of municipal-led interventions for LED and documents the expansion of community-led local responses to economic decline as expressed in the growth of urban cultivation.