Moxico Leste | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 12°S23°E / 12°S 23°E | |
Country | Angola |
Established | 5 September 2024 |
Capital | Cazombo |
Government | |
• Governor | Crispiniano Vivaldino Evaristo dos Santos (MPLA) |
Area | |
• Total | 73,141 km2 (28,240 sq mi) |
Population | |
318,582 | |
Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) |
Moxico Leste is a province of Angola. It was created on 5 September 2024 from the eastern part of Moxico Province. Its capital is Cazombo. [3]
Moxico Leste borders the Angolan provinces of Lunda Sul to the northwest and Moxico to the southwest. It also borders Lualaba Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the northeast, and Zambia's North-Western Province to the southeast. Much of Moxico Leste lies in the upper Zambezi River basin, except for the portion along the Kasai River that demarcates the provincial border with Lunda Sul. Cameia National Park is located in the province, as is Lake Dilolo, Angola's largest lake. [4] Ecoregions found in the province include Angolan miombo woodlands, Zambezian evergreen dry forests and Zambezian flooded grasslands. [5]
Moxico Leste experiences a tropical savanna climate with the dry season or cacimbo running from May to August. [6]
Since at least 2016, there have been proposals to divide Moxico, formerly Angola's largest province by area, into two smaller provinces. [7] [8] On 14 August 2024, Angola's National Assembly approved a law to create three new provinces, including separating the municipalities of Alto Zambeze, Cameia, Luacano and Luau from Moxico to form the new province of Moxico Leste. This law went into effect with its publication in the official gazette of Angola on 5 September 2024. [9] Originally the new province was to be named Cassai Zambeze, but the name was changed after consultation with Nhakatolo Ngambo, the sovereign of the Luvale and Lunda peoples. [10]
Moxico Leste is divided into the nine municipalities of Caianda, Cameia, Cazombo, Lago Dilolo, Lóvua do Zambeze, Luacano, Luau, Macondo and Nana Candundo. Cazombo is further subdivided into the communes of Cazombo and Lumbala Caquengue, and Macondo is subdivided into the communes of Macondo and Calunda. [9]
The first governor of Moxico Leste is Crispiniano Vivaldino Evaristo dos Santos, who was appointed in December 2024. [11]
The former municipalities that now form part of Moxico Leste reported a combined population of 250,584 in the 2014 census. In 2022 the population of these municipalities was projected at 318,582 inhabitants. [2] Major ethnic groups in the region include the Chokwe, Luvale, and Lunda Dembo. [1]
The main economic activity in Moxico Leste is agriculture. In colonial times, Alto Zambeze was a major rice producer in Angola, [6] while nowadays Cameia is a locally significant producer of fruits such as oranges and bananas. [1] Anglo American, Rio Tinto, and Ivanhoe Mines are prospecting in the area for minerals such as copper, zinc, titanium and aluminum. [12] Many Angolans living near the national border go to work in the DRC and Zambia. [13]
The Benguela railway runs through the towns of Cameia, Luacano and Luau. [1] National road EN250 connects Luau to Cazombo, but it is in a severe state of disrepair. [13] [14]
Lunda Sul is a province of Angola. It has an area of 77,637 km2 and a 2014 census population of 537,587. Saurimo is the provincial capital.
Moxico or Moshiko is the largest province of Angola. It has an area of 223,023 square kilometres (86,110 sq mi), and covers 18% of the landmass of Angola. The province has a population of 758,568 and a population density of approximately 3.4 residents per km2, making it one of the most sparsely populated areas of Angola. The population of the province is in flux; displaced residents have slowly returned to Moxico since the end of the Angolan Civil War in 2002. The war left Moxico as one of the most landmine-contaminated places in the world. The governor of the province is Gonçalves Manuel Muandumba.
Angola is divided into twenty-one provinces, known in Portuguese as províncias. On 14 August 2024, Angola's National Assembly approved a law to create three new provinces:
The Benguela Railway is a Cape gauge railway line that runs through Angola from west to east, being the largest and most important railway line in the country. It also connects to Tenke in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and to the Cape to Cairo Railway.
Luau is a town and municipality in Angola in the province of Moxico Leste on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Cameia, formerly Lumeje, is a municipality in Moxico Leste, Angola. It is notable for being the location of Cameia National Park, which was established as a game reserve in 1938 and proclaimed a national park in 1957. The municipality also contains two lakes, Lago Cameia and Lago Dilolo, the largest lake in Angola. It had a population of 29,476 in 2014.
Cameia National Park is a national park in the Moxico Leste province of Angola, located about 1100 m above sea level. It covers a surface of 14.450 km2. It shares its name with the nearby municipality of Cameia. The Cameia–Luacano road forms the northern boundary of the park with the Chifumage River forming the southern portion of the eastern boundary and the Lumege and Luena rivers the south-western boundary.
Alto Zambeze is a municipality in the Moxico province of Angola. It is situated near the Zambian border, with a population of 110,900 and a total area of 53,000 km2. The municipality's seat is the town of Cazombo, on the Zambezi river.
Luacano is a town and municipality in Moxico Leste Province, Angola. The municipality had a population of 20,755 in 2014.
Rail transport in Angola consists of three separate Cape gauge lines that do not connect: the northern Luanda Railway, the central Benguela Railway, and the southern Moçâmedes Railway. The lines each connect the Atlantic coast to the interior of the country. A fourth system once linked Gunza and Gabala but is no longer operational.
The Luvale people, also spelled Lovale, Balovale, Lubale, as well as Lwena or Luena in Angola, are a Bantu ethnic group found in northwestern Zambia and southeastern Angola. They are closely related to the Lunda and Ndembu to the northeast, but they also share cultural similarities to the Kaonde to the east, and to the Chokwe and Luchazi, important groups of eastern Angola.
Railway stations in Angola include:
Luau International Airport is an airport serving Luau, a municipality in the Moxico Leste Province of Angola. It is 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi) west of the city, and may replace the Villa Teixeira de Sousa Airport, an unpaved airstrip that is within the city.
Camissombo is a town and commune of Angola, located in the Lucapa municipality in the province of Lunda Norte.
Macondo is a municipality of Angola, located in the province of Moxico Leste. It is subdivided into the communes of Macondo and Calunda.
Cazombo is a municipality with a population of 34,000 (2014), and the capital of Moxico Leste Province in Angola since the province's establishment in 2024. Previously it was the seat of the municipality of Alto Zambeze. Cazombo is on the east bank of the Zambezi River. It is subdivided into the communes of Cazombo and Lumbala Caquengue.
The Luao River forms part of the boundary between Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a right tributary of the Kasai River.
Icolo e Bengo is a province of Angola. It was created on 5 September 2024 from Luanda Province. Its capital is Catete.
Cuando is a province of Angola. It was created on 5 September 2024 from the eastern part of Cuando Cubango Province. Its capital is Mavinga.
Cubango is a province of Angola. It was created on 5 September 2024 from the western part of Cuando Cubango Province. Its capital is Menongue.