Chapter 322: Inspection of Dodoma City.
After preliminary investigation, Ramoscatto believed that the city of Nairobi had great potential. According to his idea, perhaps more businesses other than the textile industry could be developed here. Of course, it would be even better if it was confirmed that there was a coal mine in Kitui. The most important thing was that Nairobi now had no competitors except the East African government, and most of his colleagues were crowded in Mombasa.
…
On March 28, the dissatisfaction of the Parisian citizens broke out. The Parisian citizens armed themselves to seize control of Paris, determined to draw a clear line between themselves and the traitorous French government. On the same day, King Constantine of East Africa began his inspection of the inland city of Dodoma.
As the capital of Tanzania in its previous life, Dodoma's status in East Africa can be summarized as "a transportation hub and a battleground for military strategists." In other words, it is just mediocre and there is nothing to brag about.
This is indeed the case. Even as the capital of Tanzania in its previous life, Dodoma could not compete with Dar es Salaam. The president stayed in Dar es Salaam longer than in Dodoma, and many government agencies were unwilling to move to Dodoma. The nominal capital of Dodoma was more like a secondary capital of Dar es Salaam.
The reason why Dodoma can become the capital of Tanzania is that it is located at the geometric center of Tanzania's territory, but the geometric center of the territory of the East African Kingdom is in today's Mbeya city. Dodoma is positioned as a transportation hub in East Africa, but there are far more than one transportation hub of the same level as Dodoma in East Africa.
Currently, Dodoma is the capital of Plateau Province and also the agricultural trade and commodity distribution center of Plateau Province. Plateau Province mainly develops agriculture and animal husbandry, with a population of only 20,000 (excluding indigenous people). Its development is not impressive among the earliest developed cities in East Africa.
The local average annual precipitation is between 400 and 600 mm. It is a rainfall depression on the East African Plateau. The precipitation in the southeast, northwest and northeast is higher than here.
Therefore, the savanna climate is very obvious, animal husbandry is relatively developed, and crops are mainly drought-resistant crops such as wheat, corn, sesame, potatoes, and cotton.
The reason why Constantine visited Dodoma was mainly to experience the difference between the climate zone of the inland plateau and the coastal areas of East Africa.
After arriving in Dodoma, Constantine and his party did not rush to the city, but instead observed the local agricultural development accompanied by local officials.
Constantine: "Compared to the first town, the climate in Dodoma is indeed cooler. Is this true for all highlands in East Africa?"
Siwei Te: "Yes, Your Majesty, I have been to many areas in East Africa, and all the plateau areas have this kind of climate. However, the precipitation in Dodoma City is far different from that in other plateau areas. This is also a shortcoming of the agricultural development in Dodoma City."
Guderian, a senior official of Plateau Province, added: "Although the rainfall is low, this also makes the agricultural differences between Dodoma City and the entire Plateau Province and other regions in East Africa. The cool and dry weather has made Plateau Province the largest province in potato production in the country. At the same time, the quality of crops such as wheat in Plateau Province is also relatively excellent. The animal husbandry in Plateau Province is also the most developed region in East Africa."
When it comes to growing potatoes, senior official Guderian is quite experienced. Guderian comes from the rural area of Lower Saxony in Germany, which is also one of the main potato producing areas in Germany.
Regarding animal husbandry, Plateau Province has obvious advantages. Although its area cannot be compared with the pastures in northern East Africa, its overall precipitation conditions are better than those in the northern pastures (mainly Oriental Province, Turkana Province, and Juba Province). Its national animal power output is also stronger than that of the northern pastures. However, the northern pastures have more advantages than Plateau Province in meat exports. Relying on the ports of Mombasa and Kismayo, and taking advantage of sea transportation, it is convenient to export to consumer areas such as Europe and the Middle East.
Constantine: "The climate here is indeed very similar to that of Prussia."
Guderian: "Yes, Your Majesty, the annual average temperature of Lower Saxony and the Plateau is around 17 degrees, but the Plateau Province is more balanced. There is no winter and summer here, and the temperature does not change much throughout the year, but the daily temperature difference is greater than that of Lower Saxony. The rainfall of the two is also similar, but Lower Saxony is more balanced than the Plateau Province."
Constantine: "So the issue of precipitation cannot be ignored. The precipitation in East Africa is more unstable than in Germany, and the water conservancy facilities are far behind. If we want to further improve agricultural production conditions in East Africa, we must build water conservancy projects."
Siwei Te: "We have been actively promoting this. Infrastructure construction is one of the government's top concerns every year. Almost as long as we have time, we will organize slaves from all over the country to build canals and farm irrigation systems."
Constantine: "Well, in addition to that, we need to dig more reservoirs to store the rainy season water to ensure water for agriculture and life in the dry season."
Siwei Te: "Your Majesty, this is a huge project. There are also difficulties in the current technology. It can only be completed bit by bit by manpower."
Constantine: "There is no need to rush this matter. We can do it from generation to generation, and it will be completed one day."
After observing the local agricultural development, everyone entered the city of Dodoma.
This place is much smaller than the first town, and the buildings and roads are relatively backward, but it still maintains the clean and tidy characteristics of an East African city. Even though many roads are still gravel roads, they are very flat, and there are no dead branches or leaves in the drainage ditches on both sides. You can tell at a glance that there are special people cleaning them.
Guderian: "Dodoma City is connected to Central Province, Mbeya, Kigoma, Mwanza and Arusha. The transportation is convenient and fast. In addition to the road to Arusha City which is under construction, the road conditions to other areas are good."
The construction of the road from Dodoma to Arusha only started at the end of last year, mainly because the capital of Kilimanjaro Province in the northern Plateau Province (formerly Northern Plateau Province) was changed from Karatu to Arusha.
Constantine: “Dodoma is very important as one of the transportation hubs in the Tanganyika region. You in Plateau Province must always ensure the smooth flow of the main roads in the province.”
Guderian: "Yes, Your Majesty, don't worry about that. We will organize people to inspect the roads every day."
Constantine then visited the homes of ordinary residents in Dodoma City. Dodoma City is an agricultural trade and commodity distribution center, and most of the citizens rely on it for employment.
Agricultural products from the Plateau Province and the more inland Hohenzollern Province were transported through Dar es Salaam and then exported.
The northern Kilimanjaro Province relies on the Port of Tanga, while the provinces further north mostly rely on the Port of Mombasa. The provinces along the Great Lakes region first transport agricultural products by lake transport to Kisumu, then through Nairobi, and finally exported in Mombasa.
The south, including Zambia and Zimbabwe, transits at Karonga in South Salzburg, then passes through Lake Malawi to the Lakes Province, and finally arrives at the Mtwara Port for export via the Ruvuma River.
Many major trade routes in East Africa do not pass through Dodoma, which is why Dodoma is a transportation hub, but not a very important one.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
