Lusaka - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the availability and cost of household help, and what types of help are typically employed by expatriates?
Inexpensive and plentiful, gardeners, drivers, housekeepers and nannies. Many households with young kids will have all of the above. - Mar 2022
Household help is plentiful and inexpensive. It's common for expats to have gardeners, housekeepers, cooks, and/or nannies or some combination thereof. You should be prepared to give very specific instructions and train your staff, as they may not know intuitively what your preferences are or they may have different practices to which they are accustomed. - Dec 2021
We have a nanny that we pay about $300 a month and she is fabulous. I think that's a pretty standard wage, at least within the US community. - Feb 2018
Household help is very inexpensive ($1-$2 per hour). We have a gardener, because our yard is the size of a small city park. Everyone is required to have a guard, but the embassy pays for the guards. We have a housekeeper that comes once a week. Quality really varies. - Nov 2017
Household help is readily available. Housekeepers, nannies, and gardeners tend to be professional and hard-working, though there are a few bad eggs here and there. It helps to set priorities early on and to suggest work improvements throughout. Salaries are quite low (around $100-$150/month). Add-ons like transport, meal supplements, and even school fees bring the price up, but still keep help very affordable. Being compassionate and engaged with household staff greatly improves communication and quality of work. - Jan 2017
Help here is cheap. A live-in maid may be anywhere from 1000 - 1500 kwacha ($100 - $150) monthly. Live-out help may be about $150 to $250 monthly, and you are expected to pay transport. Transport is about 60 kwacha ($6) a month, but some people will try to claim it's more. It's not a requirement, though, so it doesn't have to be offered. Some people pay school fees (or a portion of it) for staff with receipts. Help is mediocre at best. Zambians do not like confrontation, so they will say they understand your requests when they don't, and do the wrong thing, which is frustrating. Also, do not assume that they know how to do something. You must be specific. Their living conditions are different from ours, so what might be obvious to you is foreign to them. - Jun 2016
Widely available and fairly cheap. Full-time housekeepers and gardeners charge anywhere from $150-250 per month. - May 2016
Most people have at least part-time domestic help and many have full-time help, especially if childcare is a factor. Not so many people have cooks, but gardeners are needed, either full-time, if you have a big yard, or part-time if you are on a compound/sharing. Domestic help and gardeners are inexpensive in Lusaka. - Mar 2015
Widely available and is about US$200/month if they are experienced with American families. - Aug 2014
Less than US$200 a month. Don't be like other Americans and not train them, they become lazy (I once found mine asleep on the couch, she's no longer with us) and make comments about how their last employer didn't make them do that. - Jan 2014
Domestic help is widely available and very reasonably priced. - Apr 2013
Available, though of variable abilities and english skills. Check around first and have a probationary period with a signed contract to prevent unhappy recriminations if termination needed. About $100 - $150/month for housekeepers, gardeners and nannies. - Jul 2010
Domestic help is easy and relatively cheap--about US$150/month. - Mar 2009
US$150-200. - Mar 2009
No problem. About US$100 a month will get you someone. - Oct 2008
Very available, costs about US$150/month for good help. You can find experienced staff through the U.S. embassy newsletter or via the CLO. - Aug 2008
Skill levels vary widely, but there are plenty of people willing to work in your home. You can get decent household help for around US$175 - $200/month. - May 2008
