Marijke Overeen and Dian van Unen

The Bicycle in Zimbabwe

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Bicycle Manufacture in Zimbabwe

Unlike most developing countries Zimbabwe has a bicycle- factory, the Central African Cycle Industries in Bulawayo. A certain level of technological know-how, machine-tools and raw materials are needed to produce a bicycle. Although Zimbabwe has a steelworks (ZISCO- Redclif), it does not provide the right types and qualities of steel needed for bicycle-manufacturing. ZISCO does not manufacture steel-tubing nor strip from which tubes can be made. Zisco steel contains too little carbon (mild steel) for bicycle frame tubing. Bicycle frame tubing is mainly imported from S.A. and W. Germany Tube and Pipe Industries in Harare also imports their raw materials: strip. They make the strip into mild steel welded tubing at present only used for the handle bars and carriers on bicycles. Square tube of mild steel is locally produced and mainly used for furniture. These two types of tubing might be strong enough to serve as material for the manufacture of bicycle trailers. In the bicycle factory the imported tubing is cut, shaped, bent and brazed into shells to form a bicycle frame. Some minor parts such as the brake system are being manufactured in the Bulawayo factory, where the painting, coating and assembling takes place. The majority of parts needed for assembly are imported. This gives the following picture:

Missing table. Please write me an e-mail if you are interrested in it.

The coaster brakes, chain and freewheel are mainly imported from Czechoslovakia. The rims, unchromed and undrilled for spokes, and the sheetsteel for the rim brake, sprocket and mudguards come from South Africa. The bearrings are imported from W. Germany, worldwide the main supplier. Other countries from where parts are obtained are: France, U.K., Japan and India.

Tyres and inner tubes are produced by Dunlop, Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.

The Central African Cycle Industries (Pvt) Ltd. in Bulawayo is a private company, owned by Lieberman, Levy and Kibel.

CACI has, since 1961, manufactured a variety of bicycles. Until 1961 it seems they only assembled Raleighs. CACI produces British makes Raleigh, Humber, Phillips and Rudge under licence, and 'local' makes such as Kudu, Impala and Hercules.

The factory makes various types of carrier bicycles, a .3 wheeled delivery cycle with hox at the front and the frontforks for the Dairy Board trike.

CACI used to manufacture bicycle trailers. They stopped because the demand was said to be too low to keep production profitable.

As can be seen from the above list, the majority of parts needed for assembly are imported. One wonders whether more bicycle spare parts could be manufactured in Zimbabwe itself.

The expense of imports, the shortage of foreign currency for imports, dependance on imported parts from hostile South Africa and the world market are reason enough to try to produce more parts locally making as much use as possible of local raw materials. Such a policy would however require first political decisions and secondly the presence of a sufficient level of technological knowledge and a trained work-force and lastly, capital.

At present CACI has a monopoly of bicycle manufacture. General Manager Mr. Lieberman doesn't seem inclined to start moving towards the use of locally produced bicycle parts or to adapt and improve the models produced at his factory to suit Zimbabwean conditions and needs. (5)

As long as this situation, in which a private enterprise maintains its stranglehold on bicycle manufacture, exists, no improvement can be expected In our opinion the availability at a suitable price of this simple means of increasing the mobility of the greater part of the population and therefore their access to communal facilities, is of vital importance for the people in the rural areas.

A new development however, could change this situation.

A young Zimbabwean businessman intends starting the assembling of bicycles in Filabuzi (Gwanda) in November 1983. Siziba Enterprise is planning to assemble about 4000 ordinary bicycles a year with a workforce of 15 unskilled workers, assisted temporarily by two Indian technicians. The bicycles will be imported unassembled from India.

The government, through the Ministry of Industry and Energy Development, has granted Siziba foreign currency, while CACI was cut in its foreign currency allowance. Three reasons for granting this allowance were given:

• to break CACI's monopoly of the bicycle market
• to decentralise bicycle production
• to further the use of locally manufactured spare parts in the future (as was promised by Mr. Siziba)

Siziba told the government officials, his production would be rurally orientated, he would produce cheaper bicycles than CACI (cheap components and cheap labour) and work towards the use of locally manufactured components.

Whether Siziba Enterprises will be able and ready to keep these promises is as yet unknown. Will he be able to get his business going? Will his bicycles both be cheap and still equal or improve on the quality offered by CACI? Will he be able to distribute his bicycles? Will CACI allow a newcomer to break their monopoly, or will they action against Siziba by blocking distribution through the whole-salers.

Caci ended the manufacture of bicycle trailers because of too little demand. Now they see that trailers are becoming popular but decided not to start up production again. So the manufacturing of(bicycle)trailers is left to the 'informal' sector: the small mechanical- and welding workshops. A wide range of material is used to build small trailers, i. e. everything available: corner line, square tube, scraps of different shapes are welded into frames of varying quality. A variety of wheels are used, like 24 - or 20 inch bike wheels, small car wheels, wheelbarrow wheels, motor-cycle wheels, massive transport wheels or even iron wheels.

As far as other products and articles involving bicycle technology are concerned, various initiatives have been developed: wheelchairs have been designed and developed as have three wheeled transport vehicles, ambulance trailers. (6)