Chapter 1427 - 11: Kitwe’s Path to Transformation (Part 3)

Chapter 1427: Chapter 11: Kitwe’s Path to Transformation (Part 3)

The Copperbelt’s copper resources are the richest in East Africa, but other regions in East Africa also have a significant amount of copper resources, such as the Bohemia Province, Salzburg Province, and West Coast Province, all of which have considerable copper reserves.

"Aside from copper resources, our city’s shortcomings in other resources are quite obvious, which is also an important reason why our city’s industrial structure is relatively singular."

"In other areas, such as education and research, our city is not outstanding either, which makes our city’s advantageous industrial status unstable."

"Therefore, Kitwe’s development prospects are not promising and could even be described as dim. In this situation, if we do not reintegrate city resources and adjust the industrial structure, Kitwe City might decline and fall out of the top twenty in the national economy."

The population of Kitwe ranks in the top thirty in East Africa, but its economy ranks in the top twenty in the country, which reflects that Kitwe’s economic quality is relatively high nationwide in East Africa.

It is precisely for this reason that Mayor Deberne is unwilling to see Kitwe decline into a dispensable city in the Empire.

After all, Kitwe’s economy is decent, which has led to the quality of Kitwe’s officials being at an upper-mid level nationally, and because of this, such high-quality bureaucrats have more "drive."

Why is this so, the reason is simple. Bureaucrats in any country worldwide who want to "progress" will inevitably seek employment in economically developed areas, which is actually a form of talent absorption.

In this Era, Kitwe is considered one of the more economically developed regions in East Africa, so the quality of Kitwe’s officials is relatively higher than in other parts of East Africa.

Only those mediocre bureaucrats would choose or have to be "exiled" to backward regions to do unimportant work, at least in the absence of interference from the highest-level government.

This can easily lead to a vicious cycle, where capable officials proactively migrate to economically developed areas, while those who are inherently mediocre or even inept remain in economically challenged areas to "rule with arrogance," further exacerbating regional developmental imbalances.

And Deberne, being able to serve as Kitwe City’s mayor, naturally has his abilities and ideas, so he does not want to see Kitwe City decline.

Deberne said to the other members of the city government: "Therefore, for Kitwe City’s development, we should come up with feasible measures. At least during my term, Kitwe City must successfully transform."

"Our city’s industry must transform and move towards diversification, gradually getting rid of the heavy reliance on copper resources, and focusing efforts on agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and the environment."

"Especially in manufacturing, we need to promote the development of new industries such as electricity, automotive components, and home appliance manufacturing. Our city itself has an advanced non-ferrous metal smelting and deep processing system, leveraging this to promote the development of related industries, achieving strength by relying on strength."

"At the same time, promote cooperation with Rhein City, Mbea City, and New Frankfurt City, bringing in new technologies, new talents, and new ideas."

This is mainly because Kitwe City’s education and research capabilities are relatively weak. After all, East Africa’s higher education and large-scale research work are mainly led by the East Africa Central Government, and Kitwe City does not have nationally key universities and laboratories, naturally lacking the related talents and technologies.

Moreover, Kitwe City itself cannot conjure these resources out of thin air. Although Kitwe City’s economic capabilities provide a foundation for developing education and research work, without approval from Rhein City, Kitwe City naturally cannot build good colleges and key laboratories.

However, Kitwe also does have an advantage, which is its proximity to Rhein City, and being under Rhein City’s administration. After all, Kitwe City belongs to the Central Province, and the provincial government is also in Rhein City, so Kitwe City can conveniently obtain policies and talents due to this proximity, which is at least better than most cities in East Africa.