Winnie Miti

Zambian slang is a culture, humour, and shared experience rolled into a few words, from the streets to social media.

There's a woman in almost every Zambian household who knows things. She knows which leaf to press against a wound, which root to boil when a fever won't break, which plant to avoid entirely because its effects are too strong to risk.

Nobody really taught us how to manage money. We figured it out between school fees, funeral committees, extended family obligations, and a kwacha that never seems to stretch far enough.

Think Ubuntu is just a feel-good philosophy about kindness? In Zambia, this ancient principle is the difference between surviving a crisis alone and having an entire community show up at your door, without being asked.

Dating apps are replacing traditional introductions, couples are negotiating finances more openly, and many people are marrying later than previous generations. Yet culture still shapes expectations in subtle ways.

In Zambia’s fast-growing entrepreneurial landscape, success rarely begins with large capital but awareness, discipline, and the willingness to start small.

ZICTA called for improved network performance and stronger infrastructure. Yet many users still experience congestion and fluctuating speeds. So, have network issues in Zambia truly improved?

Zambia’s 2023 curriculum reform marks one of the most significant shifts in the country’s education system in two decades. From restructuring Grades and reintroducing A Levels to encouraging earlier subject specialisation, the changes promise modernisation but also raise practical questions.

Nshima sits at the centre of most Zambian plates, so when people hear it linked to diabetes, the reaction is immediate. But is nshima really the problem, or how often and how much we eat it?

Zambia’s public service workers will see a K700 salary increase in March 2026, following a K500 adjustment the year before. On paper, it signals progress. In practice, many employees are already calculating what remains after PAYE, transport, school fees and rent.

Most people think investing is for high earners in boardrooms. In reality, many Zambians are already investors, through land, livestock, chilimbas, and small businesses. The difference today is access. With unit trusts, micro-investing apps, and growing angel networks, you can start building wealth with as little as K10.

Long before missionaries arrived, Zambians practised a layered cosmology connecting the living, ancestors, and the divine. Christianity didn't erase these beliefs; it merged with them, creating something distinctly Zambian. Today, couples receive both traditional marital instruction and church vows.

When a widow in Zambia remarries and brings inherited property into her new marriage, the lines between family, love, and legal rights can blur in unexpected ways. What happens when stepchildren raised as your own expect a share of property they didn't legally inherit? When does marriage merge assets, and when does it protect them?

Before TV visuals dominated, one man’s voice painted a beautiful picture of the football game for millions. Dennis Liwewe was an alchemist who turned crackling radio waves into shared national theatre.

Zambia has spent years telling girls to dream big, invest in education, reach for the stars. Zambia has raised a generation of educated, independent women. The only question is whether the rest of society is ready to catch up.

You know the drill. January arrives, motivation strikes, and you find yourself Googling weight-loss plans that promise a transformation. The photos look perfect—quinoa bowls, cauliflower rice, gluten-free everything.