African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 645 Matabele Province Industrial Development

The "Eurasian Fruit Basket Plan" in the two provinces of Somalia was the vanguard of East African agriculture's active access to the international market. In 1882, the most dazzling industrial development in East Africa was in the three inland provinces (Matabele Province, Hohenzollern Province). Province, Swabia.)

In 1882, the overall steel output in East Africa was 1.23 million tons, of which Matabele Province had more than 300,000 tons and nearly 400,000 tons, quickly catching up with the eastern coastal cities, northern industrial areas, and Malawi lake industrial area.

At present, the annual steel production in East Africa is close to the level when Germany was founded ten years ago. However, after the reunification of the German country and the integration of the domestic market (for example, the newly added Alsace and Lorraine regions are important steel production areas), the steel production capacity is short. It ushered in explosive growth during the period, and then shrank after the economic crisis in 1873, but the situation was much better than in the previous life. The main reason was that the construction of the East African railway at that time absorbed the excess production capacity in the German region, so the current German steel output is twice that of East Africa. many.

The current steel production in the UK is more than 7 million tons, which is more than six times that of East Africa. The United States is more than three times that of East Africa, but East Africa is more than twice that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which is much lower than France, but the gap is not big. .

This is mainly due to the development and utilization of iron ore resources in East Africa and the dividends obtained during the economic crisis. However, it is worth mentioning that the steel output of Tsarist Russia is much lower than that of East Africa, and even lower than that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

It is certainly impossible to say that Tsarist Russia lacked mineral resources, and the population of Tsarist Russia was nearly twice that of East Africa, and the same was true for its land area.

The difference between East Africa and Tsarist Russia may be that Tsarist Russia’s industrial investment mainly relies on European and American capital, with foreign capital accounting for even more than 70%.

East Africa is dominated by German capital, mainly the Hechingen Consortium. At the same time, a large number of state-owned enterprises have been built in East Africa, which allows the East African government to control a large amount of wealth and resources in East Africa.

 The development of East Africa and the growth of the Hechingen Consortium are complementary to each other. Without the support of the Hechingen Consortium, East Africa would not be able to develop at such a rapid pace, and without the support of the national strength of East Africa, the Hechingen Consortium would not be able to become a top financial force.

And East Africa is a country of immigrants. Although in the early stage it relied entirely on agricultural development and the plunder of colonial indigenous wealth, in the later period Ernst had begun to deploy industry, mining and other industries in East Africa.

For example, during the economic crisis, the large-scale recruitment of European and American workers in East Africa boosted the urban and industrial development of East Africa, while at the same time, Tsarist Russia was dragged down by the agricultural crisis associated with the economic crisis.

 The use of foreign capital does not mean that it cannot develop, but Tsarist Russia’s aristocratic bureaucracy and European capital are not controllable by Tsarist Russia itself.

Given the virtues of Tsarist Russia’s aristocrats and bureaucrats, the efficiency of Tsarist Russia’s work, and the transportation conditions, Ernst himself did not dare to invest in large-scale industry in Tsarist Russia.

On the contrary, mining and agriculture are relatively stable, which makes Tsarist Russian industry actually attached to the European industrial system and becomes its important raw material supplier and market.

Of course, this is also related to the weak technology of Tsarist Russia. East Africa also faces this problem, and the one that provides technical support to East Africa is the Hechingen Consortium, an important patent owner in the German region.

At the same time, the East African industry focuses on the layout of key industries, especially the three major industries of electricity, steel, and railways, as well as light industries such as the textile industry, and commercial fields. On the contrary, their development is not as good as that of countries such as Tsarist Russia.

This allows the East African government to concentrate on reducing unnecessary losses. After all, it cannot bite off more than it can chew. In order to develop rapidly, it must give up some areas that East Africa is not good at.

For example, there is basically no financial industry in East Africa, and commerce is limited to a few cities in the coastal areas. Light industries such as the textile industry rely heavily on the Far Eastern Empire and the German region. Therefore, except for Nairobi, East Africa has not formed a second As the center of the textile industry, Bulawayo City is working hard in this direction, but it still takes time. The railway industry is currently the biggest driver of the economy in East Africa. The railway has indirectly driven the development of the steel industry in East Africa. As for the power industry, East Africa has invested a lot, but the initial cost cannot be recovered at all.

In the East African steel industry, the steel production capacity of the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone still ranks first, with a steel production capacity of more than 600,000 tons. However, the development history of the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone is much earlier than that of Matabele Province.

The third largest steel production capacity is the Northern Industrial Belt, with Mombasa and Nairobi having a steel production capacity of about 100,000 tons. Mombasa belongs to both the Northern Industrial Belt and the coastal city, so the coal and iron resources in the Northern Industrial Belt are not only developed locally. In addition, there are also some from the Middle East and India.

 Finally, there is the coastal urban industry dominated by Dar es Salaam and New Hamburg Port City. In addition to New Hamburg Port City’s abundant coal resources, a large part of the industrial minerals in other coastal cities also need to be imported.

Matabele Province is rich in minerals, especially gold, diamond, iron, coal, chromium, copper, etc. Gold mines are mined in the provincial capitals of Harare and Bulawayo, as well as in towns such as Gweru.

As the eldest of the three central provinces, Matabele Province also has considerable copper resources. In its previous life, the British "Rhodesia" was famous for its copper production (including the provinces of Hechingen and South Salzburg). Therefore, the electric power industry has also been deployed in Harare City in East Africa, and there are complete industrial categories here. In the next five years, it will surpass Mbeya City and become the first heavy industrial city in East Africa.

“In 1882, a total of thirteen new towns were added to Matabele Province, which were distributed on both sides of the central railway. Among them, Gweru and Gwanda were established as cities. The northwestern town of Lupane, which is not along the railway, was also included in this upgrade. within."

 Industry can easily lead to population agglomeration. In fact, the population of many agricultural towns in East Africa may not be smaller than that of these industrial towns, but it is obvious that industrial towns are easier to upgrade.

Most of these industrial towns are developed based on transportation and mineral resources, which makes Matabele Province currently the fastest urbanizing region in East Africa.

Taking Gweru and Gwanda as examples, they are both cities along the Central Railway and important mineral development areas. Kuikui, which has also been upgraded to an industrial town, will undoubtedly be upgraded to a city next year.

Kwekwe is located in the very center of Harare and Bulawayo, and is also the very center of the Matabele section of the China-Eastern Railway. However, it was developed late, so its current level is not as good as Gweru City.

Lupane, which is not located along the railway line, was upgraded to a city because of its location in the northwest region of Matabele Province. There is a lack of cities in the area, and Lupane is rich in coal mines and other resources.

“As of October this year, there are a total of 11 municipal-level administrative areas in Matabele Province, of which there are nine industrial cities. Only two municipal-level areas are under administrative management planning, and the urban population accounts for 10% of the province’s population. With more than 30%, ranking first in the country, Bulawayo City has great potential and is expected to be among the top ten cities in East Africa in the next two to three years, and Harela City will be among the top five."

East Africa's industrial investment in Matabele Province is much greater than that of other regions. Many of the scales of these cities have not yet reached the standard. However, according to their potential, the population and resources are divided. Within ten years, Matabele Province's industrial data will leave behind other regions in East Africa. Becoming the most important industrial region in East Africa.

The only shortcoming of Matabele Province is the lack of access to the sea, which is the current Portuguese colony of Mozambique. In the economic map of Matabele Province, a direct railway from Beira Port in Mozambique to Harare will be built in the future, promoting Matabele Province develops further.

 (End of this chapter)