ABSTRACT
In the following pages an attempt is made to review the technological set up in Zimbabwe, as it has been in the not too remote past and as it is today. An express effort is made to identify the salient features of the process of socio-economic development and particularly the role technology has played therein. Chapter II (entitled ‘Growth and structural changes in the economy’) is concerned with a review of the levels of technological development that have been attained in the country. This is done in a historical perspective where three major periods are considered: the first period extends from the foundation of the colony in 1890 until after the dissolution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1963); the second period covers the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) years (1965–80); and the third period concerns the latest years since national independence in 1980. The basis of periodization is that the most important technology related events in the country’s history have taken different turns during these periods. Chapter III (entitled ‘Development in technology inputs and their utilization’) is concerned with the major factors that are usually involved in the process of technological development, including population, education and the crucially important sector of capital goods industry. Among the factors of profound influence on the process are the transfer of technology by importation and the role of the government and its policies therein. A discussion of the nature, place and effect of the national research and development establishment, patent system, and the local 146consulting and engineering firms within the technological set up is also given.
