Chapter 302: Investigation Team Continued
Hearing this, Wolfgang and others were relieved a little. What von der Leyen said was right. At least from the perspective of the city of Mombasa, the environment was not much different from other nearby cities in the Middle East. It was hard to say about the inland areas, but East Africa had recruited so many immigrants that if large-scale diseases really broke out at any time, it would not be able to bear the losses in this regard. Immigration also requires huge costs.
Wolfgang: "Mr. von der Leyen, compared to cities like Mombasa and Nairobi, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa. Why don't you attract investment there?"
Von der Leyen: "Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa mainly because of historical reasons. It was originally the most important stronghold of Zanzibar on the mainland, so it was developed early. To be more precise, it is close to Zanzibar Island, which is the main body of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. However, after the establishment of the Kingdom of East Africa, Dar es Salaam no longer has this advantage. The main body of East Africa is the mainland, and Dar es Salaam is just an important port in East Africa. Its conditions are slightly worse than those of Mombasa."
Wolfgang: "Where did this come from?"
Von der Leyen: "First of all, Mombasa is in the north of East Africa. The distance from Europe and the Far East to Mombasa is closer than Dar es Salaam. I think you all understand what this means, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal, Dar es Salaam is like Venice after the decline of the Mediterranean. It was replaced by the Atlantic coastal ports and its status has further declined. Another point is that the economic structure of the west of Dar es Salaam is relatively simple, mainly focusing on the cultivation of grain crops, so it is not engaged in grain trade. Compared with the radiation area of Mombasa, it has no advantage. That is, sisal processing is a comparative advantage industry, but this aspect is mainly handled by Tanga City. I believe your country has no advantage in investing in the sisal industry."
Von der Leyen was right. The Austro-Hungarian Empire did not produce sisal, so naturally its experience and technology in this area were not as good as those of East Africa, although the sisal industry in East Africa has only been developed for a few years.
Wolfgang: "Transportation is indeed a big problem, especially ports. After the opening of the Suez Canal, to be honest, all ports along the East African coast have deviated from the main shipping channel. Only ports like Mombasa, which are close to Europe, have some advantages."
From the perspective of maritime transportation alone, fortunately Africa is close to the Eurasian continent. If it were like South America, East Africa would be mostly ruined, and North America would be similar. If it were Oceania, it would be a hellish start. Of course, if we take into account economic and resource factors, the situation would be very different. For example, Australia is now in a similar position to Siberia, but in the future it will become a popular destination because of its rich mineral resources.
Von der Leyen: "Do you plan to visit Mombasa next? This way you will have a more intuitive experience."
Wolfgang: "I couldn't ask for more."
At von der Leyen's signal, officials from the Mombasa Municipal Government began to lead everyone around the city of Mombasa.
As a free port, Mombasa is divided into two areas. What the inspection team saw just now was only the open area, so in addition to East Africans, you can also see many foreign sailors and businessmen. The business atmosphere is very strong, with pubs, casinos, shops and even Japanese-style "entertainment" venues, most of whose service staff are from Japan.
The west side of the open area is the true face of the East African city. Compared with the open area, this place looks very desolate. It is mostly residential areas, including municipal governments and other administrative agencies. The number of pedestrians on the streets has greatly decreased, making it look very empty.
"Most citizens work in the east, so the western city areas are a bit empty during this period. It will be much better in the morning and evening, which is the time for people to go to and from get off work," explained von der Leyen.
Wolfgang: "Are there a lot of policemen in East Africa? I saw quite a few along the way."
Von der Leyen: "This is also an important means of maintaining order in East Africa. After all, public security is part of the residential culture. Good public security requires not only education but also supervision. But don't worry, the East African Police Service is not just a profiteering agency, but also a convenient agency that provides services to citizens. In addition to combating crime, it also helps citizens find their way, publicizes traffic safety and laws and regulations, and improves people's quality of life and sense of security."
There are indeed more police officers in East Africa than in Europe. It is better to crack down on crimes, including petty theft, although the crime rate in East Africa is very low.
However, the most profound impression of the police in East Africans is the huge number of punishments, including traffic violations, urinating and defecating in public, littering...all kinds of trivial matters. In Ernst's words, this is a necessary means to cultivate the quality of East African residents. The effect is not obvious now, but in the future, when East Africans develop good habits, its power will be shown. This is not an exaggeration. The vast majority of East African immigrants come from rural areas. They need to adapt to the living environment in the city. Compared with rural areas, cities have more rules. It takes too long to let these people learn through education, but punishment can make them grow quickly.
Passing an intersection, a group of black-skinned workers appeared in front of the crowd and were clearing the sewer.
Von der Leyen said: "In addition to normal people, there are also a certain number of black slaves in East Africa. We will use a corresponding number of black laborers according to the project situation. If you build a factory in East Africa, we will also use some black people in the future to reduce costs. This is one of the benefits provided by East Africa to investors. As long as you pay a small amount of material fees, you can get the main body of the factory building you want."
Wolfgang: "Even the workers will use them!"
Von der Leyen: "That's not the case. They can only be regarded as a supplement to part of the East African workforce. The main workers are still East African residents."
Wolfgang: "Why not just use all black slaves? That would be cheaper!"
Von der Leyen: "This is about East African assimilation policy. Over-reliance on slaves may cause backlash. We do not want to have a black population in the future like the United States."
(End of this chapter)
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