African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 1038 Resource City Issues

Other subsequent discussions of the Second Five-Year Plan mainly focused on the field of light industry. East African light industry only increased by 30% during the First Five-Year Plan, while heavy industry increased by 83% compared with before the First Five-Year Plan, and East African agriculture increased by 83%. Before the First Five-Year Plan, the increase was 26%, and light industry was almost equal to agriculture.

East Africa has always been a weak point in the field of light industry. After the First Five-Year Plan, the gap has further widened. Therefore, vigorously supporting the development of light industry is an inevitable trend for the East African government during the Second Five-Year Plan.

Light and heavy industries themselves are integrated with each other. If the industrial imbalance is very serious, it will eventually lead to the industrial system being unable to support itself. Especially at the social level, light industry is closer to people's lives and is one of the important cornerstones of national stability.

"During the Second Five-Year Plan, light industry production must step up resource integration. When the Second Five-Year Plan is completed, the output value of light industry will be at least 50% higher than that in 1905. There will be continued development in the textile industry, stationery, daily necessities, ceramics and other fields. efforts to significantly improve the living standards of our people.”

The overall target for the development of light industry set by the East African government is not high. Even if East Africa increases support for light industry during the Second Five-Year Plan period, it will not change the fact that heavy industry accounts for the majority during the Second Five-Year Plan period.

Take the steel industry as an example. During the Second Five-Year Plan, the goal of East Africa's steel industry is to double. The goals for other heavy industries in East Africa will not be much lower. In addition, in emerging industrial fields such as basic power, it is natural to continue to expand production capacity. Consolidate East Africa’s dominant position.

At the same time, during the Second Five-Year Plan period, the defense industry will focus on development, and the defense industry is naturally biased towards heavy industry, so the dominant position of East African heavy industry in the economies of East African countries will continue to be maintained.

…

Time quietly came to 1906, and East Africa's industrial plan officially entered the "Second Five-Year Plan" era.

According to the Second Five-Year Plan, East Africa will build more than 1,200 modern large-scale light industrial enterprises during the Second Five-Year Plan. Corresponding to the number of cities in East Africa, an average of at least two large-scale light industrial enterprises will be built in each city. From this point of view, the Second Five-Year Plan is about The development of light industry is not too difficult for central and local governments in East Africa.

In the light industry development project, the province of Bohemia, as the largest heavy industry base in East Africa, has gained a lot.

City of Harare.

Mayor Antalide is reporting on the city's second five-year plan urban development priorities and various departments.

"According to the instructions of His Majesty the Emperor and the central government, our city is a key demonstration city for the transformation of traditional industrial areas during the Second Five-Year Plan period," Antalaid said.

"As one of the most important heavy industry bases in our country, the Province of Bohemia is responsible for nearly 20% of the country's industrial production activities."

"However, most of the cities in our province started out as industrial and mining industries, and their industries are relatively single, especially light industrial production. There is a big gap compared with coastal and some light industrial cities."

“Although the development of heavy industry plays a great role in improving the economy, we must realize that the stock of minerals is limited, and with economic development and technological progress, the domestic demand for mineral resources is growing rapidly every year. Take the steel industry. He said that after the completion of the First Five-Year Plan, my country's steel production has almost doubled, and when the Second Five-Year Plan is completed, it will double again. According to this trend, it is not impossible for the country's steel production to reach more than 100 million tons in the future. "

"Although our province is rich in coal and iron ore resources, some towns that were born based on small-scale mining have shown a trend of accelerating depletion of resources. If the resources of these towns are exhausted, will they be abandoned directly?"

“So taking the path of sustainable development is one of the important goals of our province in the future, especially promoting the diversification of the industrial structure and enhancing the economic development potential of the cities in the province, instead of relying solely on resources and sitting on nothing. This is a situation that our province must try to avoid. "

The concept of resource depletion is still too early for most resource-based cities in East Africa, but it does not mean that this situation does not exist, especially for some small and medium-sized towns in East Africa that relied on small mines to make their fortunes in the early years. Take the Ruhr area, Germany's traditional industrial base in its previous life, as an example. The problem of resource depletion in the Ruhr area appeared around the 1950s.

It is already the beginning of the 20th century, which means that if the industrialization of East Africa proceeds smoothly, many regions in East Africa may also face the problem of resource depletion in the middle of this century, which is 40 to 50 years time, so urban transformation work should be done in advance. , the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

As for these cities that may face resource depletion in the future, as important links in the current industrial production in East Africa, their advantages are not only reflected in the field of mineral resources.

Take railway and highway construction as an example. Railway and highway construction will inevitably move towards towns where population and industry are concentrated. This makes the transportation foundation of industrial towns in East Africa not too bad. And as railways and highways are finalized, this kind of First-mover advantage is not easy to change either.

At the same time, in the fields of infrastructure, education, medical resources, etc., these cities that relied on resources in the early days now have huge advantages over other regions in East Africa. Therefore, taking advantage of the current boom in mining mining, vigorously developing other industries is crucial to the future sustainable development of East Africa. important.

Bohemian Province is the largest mining province in East Africa. Most of the cities in the province, including Harare, rely on mining and related heavy industry sectors that rely on resource advantages.

Antalaid said: “As the most industrially and economically developed city in the province, our city must set an example for other cities in the province. In addition to continuing to improve the development of heavy industries such as the steel industry, electric power industry, and heavy machinery equipment manufacturing industry, we must also Actively promote the development of our city’s cotton textile industry, food processing industry, home appliance manufacturing and other light industrial sectors, and actively explore the diversification of urban industries.”

The province of Bohemia was most of the northern and eastern parts of the former Zimbabwe, while Harare was located in the northeastern part of the former Zimbabwe.

Northeastern Zimbabwe is not only rich in mineral resources, but also has the most favorable agricultural conditions and environment in Zimbabwe.

Therefore, Bohemia Province, which was centered on the most elite area of ​​Zimbabwe in the previous life, was not only a strong industrial province in East Africa, but also a strong agricultural province.

The conditions for growing crops such as tobacco, cotton, corn and wheat are very favorable, which makes the cotton textile industry and agricultural product processing industry in Bohemia Province relatively developed.

However, the province of Bohemia, with Harare as its core, has not fully utilized its agricultural advantages. After all, in the past decade or so, the most important thing in the central region where Bohemia is located has been rapid improvement. Industrial production capacity, and Bohemian Province is currently the main producer of various industrial minerals in East Africa. Therefore, Bohemian towns, led by Harare, used to focus mainly on the development of heavy industry centered on the mining industry.

This makes the light industry and agriculture in Bohemia develop well, but the heavy industry is relatively weak. Therefore, it is urgent to adjust the industrial structure of Bohemia Province, and it is also the most meaningful reference for the future development of East Africa.

"Relying on our city's existing heavy industry advantages and agricultural advantages, boosting the development of light industry is an important purpose to cultivate the core of our city's new economic growth, including vigorously promoting the development of the textile industry and food processing industry, while promoting the development of electrification, and creating an emerging Home appliance production industry cluster.”

Electrification is the direction of industrialization and modernization that was highlighted during the Second Five-Year Plan for East Africa, and the city of Harare naturally has to respond to the call of the central government.

The electric power industry is a heavy industry and is biased toward the energy industry. However, the final consumer end of the electric power industry is various power equipment or home appliances, which cannot be ignored in the electrification process.

The home appliance manufacturing industry undoubtedly belongs to the category of light industry. The home appliance manufacturing industry in East Africa has a relatively long history of development (compared to other countries), so its products are relatively rich.

(End of chapter)