ABSTRACT
At the centre of the African case for a major social transformation leading to economic recovery has lain the absolute necessity to transform completely the nature of the African industrialization process. The World Bank had always explained African countries’ industrial failures by pointing to the lack of incentives for increased efficiency in government policies for industry. In establishing a large-scale cement industry, the Tanzanian parastatal company relied entirely upon foreign consultants – first Swiss, then Indian, then Danish, all financed by aid from their respective governments. If African industrialization cannot sensibly be limited to meeting domestic demand, nor can it be limited to relatively simple processing technologies. The crucial issue in technology transfer is that it cannot be a gift; it can only be an act of cooperation between the technologists and those who will use the technology, in which both parties learn from each other about what is appropriate for the particular circumstances.
