Chapter 701 Urbanization

The formation of the dragoons was also to cope with possible wars in the south, to improve the mobility of the army, and to support the infantry units at any time.

The reason for choosing South Prussia was actually a helpless move, because the large-scale horse breeding areas in East Africa are located in the northern pastures and the South Prussia and Eastern provinces.

The conditions in the south are not bad, but it is a process to create something from nothing, and this is the only region in East Africa that has completed this process. Animal husbandry in other regions is either too small or has just entered the start-up stage.

…

First town city.

As preparations for war unfolded, large amounts of money were invested in the military, and the preparations took up a great deal of administrative, transportation, and economic resources.

So Ernst convened an economic meeting in the First Town to discuss development issues in various regions of East Africa during the preparation period.

"What is urbanization? Urbanization is urbanization. Population gathers in urban areas. Urban development must rely on industrial agglomeration. Urbanization without industry will be difficult to move forward. At this stage, this industry specifically refers to industry."

"So for East Africa now, industrialization means urbanization. Currently, East African industries are driven by the government. Local officials cannot be timid and must integrate location advantages and make reasonable and scientific planning assumptions for cities."

“Don’t be too ambitious. For example, if you see the development of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, you want to become rich overnight. You should think about whether the location conditions of your city can match the importance of these two cities!”

"For example, New Frankfurt is the hub of the Central Railway, the hinterland of East Africa, and radiates across the country. It is also close to the production areas of industrial raw materials, which enables the gathering of resources. This is the basic condition for the development of New Frankfurt."

"The shortcomings of New Frankfurt are that it lacks infrastructure, population, industry, and a weak industrial and agricultural foundation. These need to be addressed one by one by the New Frankfurt City Government. Otherwise, even if New Frankfurt is given another 30 years, it will not be able to develop."

“Some provincial capitals should not think of dominating alone. For example, in Plateau Province, as we all know, the capital of Plateau Province is Dodoma, but the city with the largest economy is Mwanza. There are many reasons why Mwanza has become the city with the largest economy in Plateau Province.”

"But the more important reason is not how good the conditions in Mwanza are, but the shortcomings of Dodoma. First of all, Dodoma is more restricted by topography than Mwanza, and secondly, the rainfall is also less than that of Mwanza. Therefore, Dodoma cannot compare with Mwanza in terms of agriculture. Transportation is Dodoma's advantage, but Mwanza has both large lake shipping and railway transportation, and its development history is not later than that of Dodoma."

"Of course, this is not to restrict the development of Dodoma City, but Dodoma City should invest more energy in its own advantages, just like the First Town City is the capital, but its economic development is not as good as Dar es Salaam City. Everyone is distributed differently, so there is nothing to blame. Would you "laugh at" the First Town City just because its economy is not as good as Dar es Salaam City?"

"Different regions have their own characteristics and specialties. We should adapt to local conditions and develop scientifically. For example, corn is a crop that is very suitable for growing in tropical and temperate zones. If someone insists on planting it in the cold regions of Tsarist Russia, they will definitely get nothing."

Who would grow corn in a cold zone? This was the common thought of all the participants. However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also used this simple joke to make everyone understand the core of this meeting, which is to develop advantageous industries and adapt them to local conditions.

"Of course, the fiscal waste in recent years is also a big problem. Don't blindly copy the urban development template. Although my country is mainly plateau terrain, each city has its own characteristics, such as the distribution of mineral deposits, farmland, pastures, river layout, population characteristics, etc. Don't blindly pursue the view that big is good."

"Many small towns in Europe have developed well economically, combining their own characteristics, such as the Ruhr area. However, the problems in the Ruhr area are also serious, but they are currently being ignored in the pursuit of economic interests. I don't want us to repeat such mistakes when we develop."

"The two technological revolutions have given human society a sense that man can conquer nature, but harmonious coexistence and common development between man and nature are not in conflict. There is no need to keep competing, nor is it to dampen enthusiasm. Instead, we should avoid doing the wrong thing and focus on being 'scientific' and 'reasonable'."

"Because of rising military spending and other factors, the central government's requirements for lower-level governments will naturally have to be lowered. For example, the urbanization rate should reach 30% by 1890 under normal development. We have lowered this target to around 28%."

"If we use the population data of 1880, which is 30 million people, that would be 600,000 to 700,000 people. Now it should be more, maybe a million people cannot live in towns."

"The current urbanization rate in East Africa is about 26 percent. If black people are included, it may only reach a level of more than 10 percent. Therefore, the actual data of our urbanization rate is very low. At present, Germany and the United Kingdom are over 40 percent. The gap between us and them is very huge. Of course, with the size of our economy, we have also created a great development of cities, especially since the introduction of industry in the 1970s."

The economic achievements of East Africa are just like the period when white people were in power in South Africa in the past. The hard work of black people is undoubtedly recognized, but all the credit is attributed to the white people. However, once black people are included, the true colors are revealed.

Of course, there are still essential differences between the two. The number of East African citizens is not less than that of black people, and is even more than 10 million more. Therefore, most of the credit for the main achievements of the East African economy now is indeed created by East African citizens. This is certain.

"Western provinces should learn from the experience of the eastern regions. There is still a lot of potential in the western 'indigenous people' that can be tapped, and this is a resource you can use. So, in some low-skilled jobs that require a lot of labor, black people can be allowed to complete them. The eastern regions can exchange food and other materials to support the construction work in the western regions."

Using administrative means to complete resource allocation is one of the core means of economic development in East Africa. After all, international food prices are low now, so we must always find places to consume food, and it is best to turn this consumption into real benefits, rather than pouring milk into the river like capitalists.

At present, the demand in western East Africa is still very strong. After all, compared with the east, there is a lack of everything. Therefore, by tilting the excess production capacity in the east to the west, the economy of western East Africa can achieve a leap forward.

Moreover, East Africa's stable export of black people every year can ensure that there will be space in the future to resettle immigrants, which means killing two birds with one stone.

The most typical example is railway construction. The main force at the grassroots level in East African railway construction is black people. The railways they built with their blood and sweat created a large number of jobs, and these jobs were filled by East African nationals.

Railway construction undoubtedly requires the most jobs, but it is also the largest and most dangerous project. If these dangerous heavy physical labors are given to black people, East Africa will not have to worry about "compensation", "work injuries", "death", etc.

(End of this chapter)