African Entrepreneurship Record

The Far East conflict has erupted, but it ultimately remains a minor issue for East Africa, barely attracting the attention of the country’s citizens. After all, East Africa is primarily focused on domestic construction and has little interest in getting involved in international affairs.

September 1894.

New Frankfurt City.

”This railway is going southeast. According to the higher-ups, it seems they’re planning to build a new city southeast of New Frankfurt City, northeast of Kabwe. The newly opened railway branch is using the New Frankfurt City Railway to connect to the national railway network.” Railway worker Hans shared the insider news he had heard with his fellow workers.

The East African Government is quite efficient. With the location for Rhein City decided, the railway to Rhein City has started construction, and Hans and the others are the railway workers on this line.

”This is not surprising. East Africa sees the construction of a large number of new cities every year. Just take our Hohenzollern Province as an example; there have been quite a few cities suddenly emerging in recent years.” Lavis replied.

In Hohenzollern Province, many cities have rapidly developed due to mineral resources or railways, especially in the northern copper belt and along the Central Railway line. Therefore, the emergence of a new city around New Frankfurt City doesn’t seem strange to Lavis.

”Hey, you don’t understand. If it were just a new city, it wouldn’t catch my attention. I’ve heard from Supervisor Valeni that this new city could potentially become our new capital, replacing the current First Town City.” Hans told Lavis and the others.

Lavis asked, ”How did you get this information from Supervisor Valeni? And since he knows about it, why hasn’t it been publicly announced?”

Hans replied, ”I was drinking with Supervisor Valeni a while back! He mentioned it himself while drunk. I didn’t think much of it at the time, as First Town as the capital seemed perfectly fine. How could there be plans to relocate the capital? But not long after, Supervisor Valeni’s words were confirmed, especially concerning this railway, which he emphasized significantly.”

His colleague Bell interjected at this point, ”Hans, what’s important about this railway?”

Hans grinned, ”The knowledge behind this is extensive. You all know that any country’s capital must be a place where transportation links throughout the country converge. Isn’t there a saying that all roads lead to Rome? Therefore, the capital must be chosen in East Africa’s most convenient transportation area.”

”And while the location of First Town City is good, near the sea and with railway access, it’s too far east. Our East Africa is a Great Power, way bigger than ten Germanys combined, so the location of First Town City is naturally too remote for East Africa as a whole.”

”However, New Frankfurt City’s surroundings are different; it’s not only the geographical center of East Africa but is set to become our future national economic center. To give a simple example, if we place the Central Government here, we can better control all regions, especially our country’s main highland core areas.”

Everyone felt Hans had a point, but Lavis asked, ”Wouldn’t this be redundant? We could simply place the capital in New Frankfurt City, and building a new city would seem wasteful.”

Regarding this, Hans explained, ”It’s not contradictory. First Town City isn’t placed in the more bustling Dar es Salaam City but is instead built about fifty kilometers west of Dar es Salaam City, so our future new capital might follow this approach.”

Just then, Supervisor Valeni appeared out of nowhere, asking, ”Hans, what are you guys talking about?”

Valeni’s sudden appearance startled everyone, as being a supervisor, he invoked a sense of fear in their hearts.

Hans’s face stiffened, and he hurriedly replied, ”We were just discussing the railway matter, as Supervisor Valeni, you have mentioned the importance of this railway, so we were talking about work.”

”Oh, that’s it. You better not play any tricks. This railway is extremely important; there can’t be any flaws in quality. So be attentive during construction and report issues promptly. It’s troublesome if problems arise later.”

”Supervisor Valeni, we’ve heard these words to the point of being tired of them. Rest assured, we keep them in mind.” Lavis and the others echoed.

The more they said this, the less assured Valeni felt. He directly stated, ”The importance of this railway surpasses that of any previously built line, so you must treat it with tenfold or even hundredfold diligence. Otherwise, when you get caught in trouble, don’t expect me to bail you out.”

Valeni’s words caused quite a shock, as ”getting caught in trouble” implied going to prison, or in East Africa, it could mean ending up in mines or other heavy labor.

”Supervisor Valeni, did you receive some news? Hans was just saying that this railway leads to East Africa’s future new capital.”

Valeni frowned and said, ”Hans, where did you hear this?”

When suddenly addressed, Hans was somewhat flustered as he said, ”Supervisor, didn’t you mention this last month while drinking with me?”

Valeni scratched his head, ”Did I? What else did I say when I drank too much?”

Hans replied, ”Something about the Rhein and whatnot. I was also quite tipsy, so I don’t remember much.”

Finally, Valeni recalled how the information leaked. It seemed better to drink less in the future; he didn’t expect to reveal truths when drunk. If any secrets get exposed, it would be too embarrassing.

”Don’t stress too much over concepts like the capital. There’s nothing set in stone yet! I heard gossip from friends, but one thing is certain—the higher-ups consider this city crucial. So work carefully, especially when overseeing the black workers.”

Mentioning the black people, Valeni continued, ”Two years ago, during a section of railway we managed, it was nearly compromised due to carelessness by the black workers. Thus, you must closely monitor their work and repeatedly check their construction zones, at least three times a day, to ensure the project’s quality.”

The East African railway system employs a large number of black laborers. While they’ve contributed significantly to railway construction, their lack of knowledge and cultural limitations prevent them from becoming excellent industrial workers.

Nonetheless, the East African Government is aware of this fact and has no intention of training the black people into excellent industrial workers. Currently, they continue employing them due to the cost-effectiveness of this labor force.

However, in the railway sector, the percentage of black laborers is actually decreasing. Previously, the railways were filled with black workers and East African overseers, but now their numbers have dropped to less than thirty percent.

Of course, their proportion is slightly higher in mines, plantations, and other sectors. Meanwhile, most work is increasingly completed by East African natives, given their population now exceeds the black slaves by two to three times. This also helps the East African Government prepare for societal changes following the reduction of black slaves.

”Black workers generally lack diligence or basic knowledge, so you must keep a close watch. Otherwise, apart from troubles, the blame will definitely fall on you.” Valeni emphasized.

”Rest assured, Supervisor, we’ll keep a close eye. Moreover, we’ll handle significant tasks ourselves to ensure efficiency and quality.” Lavis said at the right moment.