Here’s a real-life scenario: Russia thinks (rightly or wrongly) that Ukraine, or at least parts of it, are sovereign Russian territory. As such, it sends in its army and destroys civil structures in an attempt to enforce the takeover. The same happens when politicians decide to implement special laws to address past atrocities with their new-found power but limited knowledge and experience.
In our local context, such a process led to South Africans learning a few words they had not encountered before:
• State capture.
• Potholes.
• Loadshedding.
• Bribery and corruption extensive enough to destroy the economy.
• Junk status.
• Judiciary facing capture.
• Bankrupt municipalities.
• No service delivery.
• Expropriation without compensation.
The problem lies with the word ‘empowerment.’ For politicians, this means ‘more power,’ while for citizens it means ‘dignity through more growth opportunities and satisfactory income.’
When the focus is on redistribution and not education, it creates a beggar’s attitude among the population. No economic freedom exists for anybody by handing a business over to another group. The baker (entrepreneur) leaves the country and starts a bakery somewhere else. The cake just got smaller and is placed in the hands of people that do not know what to do with it. People whose stomachs are full say “good riddance” to these entrepreneurs while the country has one of the highest unemployment figures in the world.
So, what has this got to do with automation? The world is moving to automation for many reasons, including lack of human resources, competition, customer demand, and so forth. South Africa has small pockets of well-implemented automation, mainly thanks to individual entrepreneurship.
We need to change our strategy to baking more cakes, automating the processes, and not distributing the leftovers. Automation is a worldwide implementation strategy and South Africa has to refocus or become a beggar’s haven. As one person put it, “We have to try and build the plane after it has taken off.”
We must put apartheid, black economic empowerment and other lingering issues behind us and focus on the future. You cannot plough land while looking behind you. I am not suggesting that we forget these past issues, but if we focus on them, we will remain the ‘most unequal’ country with one of the highest unemployment figures in the world.
SAIMC User Advisory Council annual summit SAIMC Supplier Advisory Council
SAIMC
The SAIMC User Advisory Council is proud to present the 2025 Annual Summit, formerly known as the MESA Africa Summit. The theme is ‘Mining and manufacturing in South Africa: SMART operations in a disruptive world economy’.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The Durban branch of the SAIMC was pleased to welcome Vusi Sithole, managing member of Hybrid Control Corporation in Richards Bay, who presented\on the very pertinent topic of ‘Infrastructure monitoring and control for water loss management’.
Read more...SAIMC: Sunshine, swings and smiles: Durban Golf Day hits a high note Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
SAIMC
We say it every year, and we’ll say it again: May in Durban is hard to beat; but 9 May, when the Durban Golf Day teed off at Kloof Country Club, was something else. With sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 20s, it was a fantastic day, full of fun and great energy.
Read more...SAIMC User Advisory Council KS4I event: Bridging the industry/education divide
SAIMC
Horst Weinert, head of Didactic at Festo Southern/Eastern Africa, will be sharing some of Festo’s Didactic experiences of working across industry and education. He will cover training for productivity and employability in the public and private sectors, discussing especially the potential for inter-company training centres.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The local Johannesburg Branch of the SAIMC recently hosted a Technology Evening at Bryanston Sports Club on 9 April 2025.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The April technology meeting for the Durban branch of the SAIMC was kindly sponsored by ProRisk, a subsidiary company of the Proconics Group of Companies. Process safety engineer, Guillaume de Swardt gave a fascinating presentation on the power of operational risk control by utilising CFD software.
Read more...SAIMC User Advisory Council KS4I event SAIMC Supplier Advisory Council
SAIMC
The SAIMC User Advisory Council started 2025 with its first event in the ‘Knowlege Sharing 4 Industry’ event series on the 19th of March.
Read more...Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry
SAIMC
In proud partnership with Innomotics, SAIMC will be hosting the first Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry event for 2025.
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