"To meet the needs of East African economic development, the East African Planned Economy Committee was established to coordinate and oversee construction in industry, agriculture, energy, technology, engineering, and other fields nationwide."
"The principal reason for establishing this institution was to formulate the nation's medium- and long-term development plans, maintain the stability of development policies, more scientifically chart East Africa's independent path of economic development, coordinate the work of state-owned enterprises, public institutions, and government departments at every level, formulate production plans, and raise industrial and agricultural productive capacity."
In a country like East Africa, where the state-owned and collective economies—chiefly agriculture—held the leading position, relying on traditional Western or capitalist models of economic development was clearly not feasible.
Therefore, in October 1895, Ernst formally pushed for the establishment of the East African National Planned Economy Committee, drawing capable men from government agencies across East Africa to form an economic policy body utterly unlike anything in the Western world.
The establishment of the East African National Planned Economy Committee did not mean East Africa was rejecting the market economy. Rather, it was intended to guide the development of East Africa's state-owned and collective economies more scientifically.
Of course, East Africa's principal private economy consisted of royal enterprises, so in practice they would also comply with government requirements in formulating their development strategies for the East African mainland.
Within the East African government, however, this institution was nicknamed the "Economic Cabinet." Unlike the Ministry of Finance, whose work was largely completed within its own department, it could directly intervene in the work of every department related to the national economic sphere. Naturally, Ernst himself served concurrently as its head.
"In our country's economic structure, the state-owned and collective economies occupy the leading position. Therefore, to facilitate the management of state-owned enterprises