The pre-colonial population of the area were Tonga. The town was established to house workers who were constructing the dam in the mid to late 1950s and was constructed by the contractorCostain. After the completion of the dam wall and the power station quite a few impressive monuments were built in the early 1960s i.e. the Roman Catholic church located at the Kariba Heights and next to it the Pat McClean Theatre named after Patricia McClean a well known wealthy resident of Kariba Heights. Kariba was the childhood home of the localcult leaderEmmanuel Sadiki, who preached in southern Zambia during the late 1980s.
Geography
Kariba is located on Lake Kariba, a reservoir created by Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River. Kariba has three main suburbs: Mahombekombe, the older poorer lakeshore high density suburb, Nyamhunga the newer high density suburb and Kariba Heights, the wealthier hilltop suburb and location of the Operation Noah monument. As the name suggests the heights overlook the surrounding region and offer impressive views of Lake Kariba and the opposite lakeshore to the south. The town has road links connecting it to Harare and to the border of Zambia. It is serviced by Kariba Airport, and has ferry service to Victoria Falls via Mlibizi Fishing camp.
Economy
Kariba town is the centre of the tourist industry for the Lake Kariba region. Kariba town provides accommodation in various hotels and lodges. There are two casinos in the town. Many of the attractions in Kariba for the tourist are water-based. Fishing, game-viewing and house-boating are the most popular activities. Tourists also visit the Kariba Dam wall and local crocodile farms. The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority ZESA employs workers in the hydroelectric power station. Kapenta fishing is also an important industry, though it was affected by the nation-wide fuel shortages, and in the 2010s by drought. ZB Bank Limited, a commercial bank, maintains a branch in Kariba.
Challenges
In the twenthy-first century, the town of Kariba faced many of the nation-wide problems brought on by the depressed national economy, including lack of foreign currency. The town had difficulty in revenue collection. As a result, its fleet did not received proper maintenance nor replacements, which was also true of its water and sewage system, which suffered chronic pump breakdowns. Kariba also continued to have a large number of unoccupied housing units, left over from the construction boom, units which generated no income.
