Where Prospects Please
By CLELAND SCOTT
FRICA has been billed as the continent of tomorrow's troubles. If you are a pessimist this may be so, though Mr. Griffith's determination to let the various races in Eastern Africa. themselves settle their problems slowly with little outside interference bodes well for the future. Politics aside, there is no disputing the fact that Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika considered as one entity, as one day they must be, is a part of Africa where most prospects please. It has not reached puberty, but it has the great advantage of being able to avoid many pit- falls experienced elsewhere. Thus it must be a very fussy fellow who cannot find a pleasant and profitable life in one of the three territories. Even the Labour Government seemed engaged in a campaign of high-powered salesmanship to private enterprise. Let us examine dispassionately what is on offer.
Above all, there is variety both for the bureaucratic-minded and for those who may inherit the initiative of their Elizabethan ancestors,_ who did not worry about the constitutions of the lands they fancied. If you have a small amount of capital, and minerals interest you, then Uganda is the best bet ;it has its three Ts and three - Cs—tungsten, tin and tantalite ; copper, cobalt, colum- bite—pockets of gold and maybe uranium. If you have not got enough, money to operate perhaps fruitlessly for a year, there are plenty of jobs going. One day a textile industry is bound to start in what has been called the pearl 'of Africa. Cotton is grown and ginned there, so why not turn it into cloth when you will have the power from the Owen Falls electricity scheme ? Not far away, near Tororo on the Kenya border,, a cement factory will soon be in operation ; in the same area there are phosphate and iron deposits, and with tungsten in Uganda steel for buildings will not have to be imported. Up to date Tanganyika has produced East Africa's sole millionaire, thanks, it seems, to diamonds unlimited ; it is unlikely that he has found the only " pipe " in all East Africa. The lead and coal mines give plenty of scope, especially once Rhodesia is linked to Kenya. by rail, so again there are plenty of types of jobs. Already great strides have been made in the fight against the ubiquitous tsetse fly, and when these progress a little further Tanganyika may rival the Argentine as a producer of prime beef. Once boreholes are sunk and dams made there is plenty of room. Sisal does well ; so do cotton and rice.
Kenya, thanks to the knowledge, initiative and industry of the much maligned settlers, produces the bulk of the cereal require- ments of all three countries. It also produces the butter, ham and bacon. When the Meat Commission has got over its teething troubles and the cold-storage factory at Athi River is in- produe- tion, it will be able to increase the supply of tinned beef for export besides later exporting chilled beef. The tendency in Kenya today is towards intensive mixed farming, and as bore- holes are sunk furthdr sub-division will be possible to combat possible erosion. Sohie of the native reserves are overcrowded, but as the tsetse fly is exterminated, inoculations improve and Watering facilities grow better there is no reason why part of these populations should not migrate to the at present entirely deserted areas. This migration would bear no resem- blance to the population moves in Europe, where the majority of people concerned are either distressed refugees or Stateless persons. No hardship would be involved for these' Africans, but in neither the old nor the new areas can they be left to their prehistoric farming methods ; else there will merely be erosion in new places. Kenya stands high as a dollar-earner, thanks to sisal, coffee, pyrethrum, kyanite and visitors, both hunters with rifle or camera and ordinary tourists. Tea, requiring a factory within close distance of the 'gardens, needs a large capital to start, but the country grows enough to export in addition to supplying the terrific African thirst. The wool clip is not large, but it fetches a high price, due partly to the lack of grease compared to Australian fleeces.
Kenya is also likely to attract both the business and pro- fessional man because of its larger European and, since the war, moderately cosmopolitan population. Around Nairobi there is already a growing industrial area on account of the establish- ment of secondary industries. If you have not the capital for any of these lines there dare plenty of executive jobs and a great demand for artisan 'Government posts are legion, veterinary, medical, educational, administrative, besides the ordinary run of a civil service ; the railway, Government-owned, can always use engineers; drivers, guards and workshop-foremen. Those who fancy life in the bushcan be accommodated by road-building or water-boring for GoVernment or for private firms. Finally, the man who has retired and who only wants to potter can do a lot worse than pick East Africa, since he can indulge his fancy growing flowers, fruit or vegetables, all of which do well in certain districts ; farming is very much of a whole-time job and requires a capital of at least.i£12,000. Horses can be kept at negligible cost, while the trout-fishing is not only good, as is the bird-shooting in parts, but evenly distributed. The future of game in Kenya is rosy for three main reasons ; the establishment of National Parks just after the last -war, an enlightened public opinion, and sound game laws which do not allow anyone, Africans or otbers, to butcher game for profit. The small Nairobi National Park, where it is possible to see lions enjoying life within five miles of the capital of the country, attracts -hundreds of visitors of all races weekly, and has done incalculable good in educating the public and making it realise .what a unique and precious heritage it holds in trust for future generations.
To my mind one of the attractions, of Kenya, or any of East Africa for that matter, is the sun, a commonplace and not a rarity. Taken by-and large the climate is healthy enough, and in order to keep warm one does not have to eat vast quantities of food. Food itself is on the whole good, plentiful and reasonable in price, as is alcohol. There may be great satisfaction in doing your own chores, but personally I would much rather let an African clean that greasy frying-pan ; I prefer to have service. Today it is not always with a grin, but I still appreciate my early tea brought to me in bed ; I do one or three hours'- work, and then call fin bacon and eggs and coffee. The African cook steals and is often maddening, but if unexpected guests arrive he usually rises to the occasion and produces a very fair meal whether you call for it at 8 or not until- 10 if a rot of gin has first been lowered. There may be better places than ,East Africa, but they are hard to find-jvhen you have to earn your living.
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