This chapter discusses the establishment of the Association of Rhodesian and Nyasaland Industries (ARNI) in 1957 as an organisation that could speak for industrialists throughout the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. It details the politics of the ARNI, especially the demands and aspirations of Southern Rhodesian industrialists as they interacted with territorial and federal governments as well as their Northern Rhodesian and Nyasaland counterparts vis-à-vis other economic interest groups. The formation of the ARNI happened in a fast-changing economic and political space in British Central Africa. The Federation suffered an economic recession from late 1956 following a fall in the price of copper, the linchpin of the federal economy, on the global market. From 1957, African nationalism in the Rhodesias and Nyasaland grew, resulting in frequent protests and states of emergency. In 1962, general elections in Southern Rhodesia brought in a new right-wing government under the Rhodesian Front. This political and economic situation resulted in the dissolution of the Federation in 1963, paving the way to the independence of Zambia and Malawi in 1964, while Southern Rhodesia continued under a White minority government that proclaimed a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from Britain in 1965. The following pages give an overview of how the ARNI manoeuvred itself in this changing economic situation and during decolonisation. It further assesses how the dissolution of the Federation reconfigured trading relations among three territories and the implications of this on industrial development.

The discussion begins with the transition from the Federation of Rhodesian Industries (FRI), the predecessor to the ARNI. The second section analyses the existing economic and policy environment and the ARNI’s perspectives and responses on these. The next part discusses the road towards decolonisation and how the ARNI positioned itself under the circumstances. Lastly, the chapter examines the structure of secondary industry and its position in the economy. Broadly, the chapter maintains that industrialists managed with minimal state support. Other economic interest groups, in particular commerce, remained somewhat unsupportive of industrial development.

From the FRI to ARNI

The ARNI, established in 1957, succeeded the FRI, which until then had represented only the interests of industrialists in Southern Rhodesia. During the final congress of the FRI on 18 July 1957, Sir Malcolm Barrow, the Minister of Home Affairs (and former Minister of Commerce and Industry), urged industrialists to expand their membership to reflect the geopolitics of the Federation.