Chapter 521: Application
Bulawayo City, once the capital of the Matabele Kingdom and now the second-largest city in East Africa's Matabele Province, had been developing rapidly.
Its favorable geographic conditions, combined with the passage of the Central Railway through the area, gave it a significant transportation advantage.
In Ernst's previous life, Bulawayo was known for its industry and was Zimbabwe's largest manufacturing center. It included sectors such as steelmaking, machinery, food processing, textiles, fertilizers, and daily chemicals. This industrial mix highlighted Bulawayo's economic importance in Zimbabwe—especially rare for an African country.
The factors that made Bulawayo an industrial hub included historical continuity, transportation advantages, and abundant mineral resources.
After East Africa's takeover, it inherited most of Bulawayo's assets. The main inheritance from the Ndebele people was housing, which helped solve East Africa's early housing shortage for settlers. The Ndebele treasury, mainly gold and gems, had long since been absorbed into East Africa's own reserves. There were other goods as well, but none of interest to the new regime.
Globally, the love for gold is universal, and the Ndebele were no different. Their royal treasury had been East Africa's richest haul to date—unsurprising given the size and history of the Matabele Kingdom.
East Africa had previously conquered many indigenous kingdoms, but few had wealth comparable to Zimbabwe's long history. Some, like the Msiri regime or former kingdoms in the Great Lakes region, had migrated with their wealth or had little to begin with.
Although Zimbabwe's historical record is fragmented, it didn't stop the later Ndebele from inheriting the legacy of the Shona, whose ancestors had likely built Great Zimbabwe. After all, only a regional hegemon could have created such a grand stone city.
Whether the Shona built it or not, Ernst believed they must have participated—just like how Egypt had been conquered many times, yet its people remained the same. Culture might change, but ethnicity does not—unless, like in the U.S. or East Africa, there's genocide or demographic replacement.
"Bulawayo has abundant coal, and compared to Mbeya, our biggest advantage is flat, open terrain. We get less rainfall, but that makes the area ideal for cotton. So besides being suited for steel, we're also a great candidate for developing a textile industry like Nairobi's," said Mayor Luo.
"You sound envious of Nairobi."
"Heh, nothing wrong with that. Nairobi's the 'City of Textiles.' We started late here in Bulawayo, but we're eager to catch up."
"Well, we'll have to investigate first. We can't approve a textile factory based on your pitch alone. Your city's doing well as it is—steelmaking is a major asset that many cities would kill for."
Bulawayo's steel industry was largely based on coal and iron mined locally in Matabele Province.
It focused on steel production to lay the foundation for a future stainless-steel sector. East Africa held the world's largest reserves of chromite, the ore from which chromium—a key stainless-steel ingredient—is derived. Matabele Province had the second-largest deposits, just behind Hechingen Province.
Other key minerals like manganese and nickel were also abundant in East Africa.
Of course, stainless steel hadn't yet been developed. In Ernst's original timeline, it was invented in 1912 by British metallurgist Henry Brearley. Ernst knew exactly how it worked but chose not to introduce it early, preferring to avoid disrupting history. For now, research was limited to lab work at Bulawayo's Metal Research Institute.
Since East Africa controlled around 90% of the world's chromite reserves, it had no fear of other nations surpassing it in this area. Like tungsten in the Far East Empire, stainless steel would be East Africa's domain. There was no rush.
"This year, the Ministry of Agriculture conducted pilot studies in three experimental cotton fields in the Bulawayo region. The results were promising. Once the harvest comes in, we'll analyze the samples. Regardless of the outcome, the land is clearly suitable for cotton—the crops look great."
"In that case, it seems the Agriculture Ministry already has plans for your area. No need to come to us, right?"
"That's different. The Agriculture Ministry doesn't oversee industrial development. They can say the land is good for cotton, but that doesn't mean a textile factory will be built here. That's where the Industrial Department comes in. And let's face it—Nairobi can't handle all the textile output we need. We'd be happy to help carry the load."
Textile production was enormous. It had been a pillar industry in Britain. With East Africa's rapidly growing population, Nairobi alone couldn't keep up with demand.
"So," the mayor continued, "we've got the land for cotton, a solid industrial base, and great transportation. But East African industry is still concentrated in the east. The interior—especially the south—will need major development in the future. As the population booms, demand will explode. Building a textile plant in Bulawayo makes perfect sense."
"Well, it's not our final decision, but we'll submit your proposal to higher authorities. But let me warn you: if you want approval, you'll need to solve the issues of raw materials and labor. Labor probably won't be a problem—the central government could assign staff from Nairobi—but raw materials will be trickier. You'll have to work with the Agriculture Ministry to rapidly expand cotton production."
"You're right. Our city government will prioritize that. If this year's cotton passes inspection, we'll apply to expand planting west of Bulawayo next year. We aim to scale up quickly."
"Ha! Aren't you afraid of expanding too fast? What if the factory never gets approved, and all that cotton goes to waste?"
"Come on, give me some credit. I already asked the East African Import-Export Company. Even if the factory isn't built, they'll still buy the cotton. Domestic demand is high—this year we even imported cotton from the Far East. And internationally, countries like Germany and Austria-Hungary have high demand and little land, so there's a large market."
"Well then, Mayor Luo, it sounds like you've done your homework. I won't talk you out of it. Looks like your city might be climbing the rankings soon."
"Haha, let's hope so! If this works out, dinner's on me."
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