Balaka Township, Malawi
| Balaka | |
|---|---|
 Balaka
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| Coordinates: 14°55′S 34°52′E / 14.917°S 34.867°E | |
| Country | Malawi |
| Region | Southern Region |
| District | Machinga District |
| Population (2008) | |
| • Total | 24,052 |
| Time zone | +2 |
| Climate | Aw |
Balaka is a township in Southern Region, Malawi and headquarters for the Balaka District. The township was formerly a boma of Machinga District, before the Balaka District was created in 1998.
A growing commercial centre on the road from Zomba to Lilongwe, as well as on a Blantyre–Salima rail route. The immediate trading centres that surround Balaka are Ntcheu, Phalula, Liwonde and Ulongwe. The town is situated roughly 130 kilometres North of Blantyre and about 200 kilometres South of Lilongwe.
The town's population is composed of people of multiple ethnicities. However, the Yaos and Ngoni's make up the biggest percentage.
The Andiamo, Montfort Media, and "Lucius Banda's" residential areas are characterised by well planned and modern houses which the locals equate to Lilongwe's formal houses of Area 10.
In 2004, the passenger terminals were renovated, and now features recreational bars and several hawkers and restaurants that serve passengers on excursions. Telephone bureaus and cyber cafés are available for emergency communications.
Just opposite the entrance to the bus park, there is a yard where taxis park ready for transporting people to any desired destination. There are also lorries are hired for heavy goods.
There is a rail line that passes through the town. It helps people make use of cheap transport to Blantyre and other nearby places. Its route to Lilongwe via Salima was closed and is yet to be reopened.
Notable fast growing businesses are transportation, operating shops, timber selling, and most technical jobs. The market in Balaka is not very big and most of the things that are available on the market are food stuffs and clothes. It is a modern market of Malawi standard and can accommodate many vendors even though most of them prefer to sell their things outside the market. There are also a variety of shops which keep in stock different items. Some of these shops are hardware shops, Groceries, and others that specialise in clothes.
There are six well-known superettes in Balaka town: Metro shop, Ashraffi Superette, Four Ways Superette, Select Superette, Balaka's Best and Seven Star(renamed Fair price Trading as from 1 September 2014). All these superettes provide good items to the citizenry.
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Wikipedia