MINI-POST № 2 – NATION PLANNING?
When
the newest Finance Minister presented the budget Professor Bond quite rightly wrote
‘No-big-picture-in sight’[i].
South Africa’s government simply hasn’t a long term view and excitement over minimum
wages proves it.
Malaysia[ii]
too is upping minimum wages but on sounder
grounds - 96% of Malaysians are employed[iii].
In SA around 50% of the future, the youth, are unemployed - that’s why they’re
angry Ramaphosa.
A Xmas time ‘feel-good’ exercise is reduced to a sloppy ‘win-me-a-vote’
game.
When
the new minimum kicks in Big Business will (again[iv])
(rightly[v])
have self-serving SA unions by their curlies
and similarly, more private people are going forget the hassle, import a robot.
It amounts to President ‘Marikana’
Ramaphosa knowingly only helping the few who have a job at the lower end of
society. And logically he will be helping fewer: last year 36,000 ‘domestic-help’
sector folk lost their jobs[vi].
And anyway, once transport and time
costs are factored in, what family can live on the income proposed[vii]?
It amounts to a meal or two for most of the ANC cabinet … why is it they cannot
‘see’ to invest in the most simple of positive-advancements today for tomorrow’s
tomorrow?
Integrated
communities[viii]
and nationwide job creation[ix]
are examples of absolute minimums. Is
it fair to say it hasn’t happened because it requires
a portion each of competency, organisation skill, honesty and vision from those
who have the reins? Instead Danny Msiza[x]
types emerge.
And
now Artificial Intelligence (AI) is
coming … unstoppable – not negotiable.
It
is an eclectic phenomenon that will change the world. We will live longer, the
earth will be treated better and some among us will even create-initiate changes to the human condition, systems and environments far beyond anything present day gods
have been credited with[xi].
But AI is also going to create a massive class of people designated ‘useless’.
They won’t participate because they don’t have the education or the smarts to
re-invent themselves every 10 years or so[xii].
We don’t know much about how the world will be but we do know change will be that rapid.
It
is exciting, but for the ill-prepared, serious.
Is it "lackadaisical" whites (who have no power) Ramaphosa talks of[xiii]
or does the problem lie with ANC cadres who don’t seem to understand that by 2030 it’s probable 40% of Asians and Europeans
and over 80% of Africans will be in that useless class? Lowering standards[xiv],
handing out certificates will not qualify people to play. It is about competency
at the level of demands made on the brains of today’s junior engineering class
– definitely IQ at 100.
It
is impossible to train the unprepared to become adaptive problem solvers[xv].
Instead of laying foundations 24 years ago the ANC elected to not see real
problems in the hope they’ll go away, preferring children’s housey-housey games
with side-issues like affirmative action, putting people ‘back[xvi]’
on the land and minimum wages.
What
are the 80 per cent, the unemployable of 15
years time who don’t even understand Climate Change now, to do while the
robots work?
Is
SA’s leadership hoping California or China will agree to tax themselves to pay
SA a basic income because they’ve failed to keep up?
The
inability of Africa’s politicians to see further than the next bank statement
as projected by ANC policies and the attitudes of the ‘kill-five-whites-for-every-black’
Mngxitama[xvii]
types are going to bury South Africa - alive.
But
there is hope. A nationwide national army run on a paternal – capitalist model by
a visionary general committee could swing it[xviii].
THE TOLL ROADS
MINI-POST № 1 – NATION PLANNING?
In
the clear-cut article ‘Here’s what will happen to our roads if we don’t pay
e-tolls’ (see businesstech.co.za) South Africans are warned the road system
will collapse.
The
problem coming is far-far bigger than
coughing up the Rands … SA is running low on civil engineers. Not tomorrow,
maybe not in 2019, but SA will soon enough mirror Nigeria[xix].
Can you see the likes of Andile ‘kill-five-whites-for-every-black’ Mngxitama[xx],
EFF’s Malema or Dr Nzimande (Sociology - Minister of Transport[xxi])
fixing any roads?
South
Africa was known for having some of the best roads in Africa but, that’s it - ‘was
known’. Science and Technology Minister Pandor recently confirmed of the 1500
engineering graduates yearly ‘only about half go on to practice engineering’
and I don’t think emigration is factored into that. There are countries where
one can take a walk and feel safe that want SA’s engineers … and they’re going
there.
The
Minister responds by saying SA needs to encourage overseas trained engineers to
come to help build the country[xxii]
– what? With danger pay? The ANC, EFF[xxiii]
and thorny groups like BLF are doing their best to chase away the few they
have.
But
here’s the long-term bomb … International group Aurecon[xxiv]
(headed up by South African educated Gustav Rohde) last year inferred that more needs to be spent on educating
engineers (in 2107 it supported 60 students) noting that the biggest problem is
(especially among the disadvantaged) finance[xxv].
But is that the real issue?
Or
do the politicians need to face up to the horrible truth SA either doesn’t have
enough smart people who want to be
engineers (perhaps some haven’t been identified) or they are simply not
there?
[i]
https://mg.co.za/article/2018-10-26-00-mboweni-misses-the-big-picture
[ii] A partner in backward thinking. Malaysia and South Africa, both
experts in corruption and public monies misappropriation-cum-theft practices
follow many similar nation destroying policies such as, example only, affirmative
action.
[iii] https://tradingeconomics.com › Malaysia
[iv] Starting in newly independent Zambia when Anglo-American saw the Nationalist Party of SA were
doomed they raised wages – dramatically – but in return those who got higher
pay were expected to perform more at a higher standard and a commensurate
number of folk were ‘released’, free to go sit at home.
[vii] https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/170981/how-much-it-costs-to-feed-a-family-in-south-africa-in-2017
[x] https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/ancs-danny-msiza-his-r164-million-empire-20181212
and at https://reviewonline.co.za/105566/msiza-new-anc-provincial-treasurer/
[xii] Google is becoming
very censorious but even so, look up thinkers like Sam Harris and Yuval Harari
and ask of the ‘useless class’.
[xiii] https://www.fin24.com/Economy/ramaphosa-growing-black-anger-about-lackadaisical-whites-with-power-20181213
[xiv] Seen again yesterday
at the HAD … https://mg.co.za/article/2018-12-14-00-roof-caves-in-on-housing-agency?
[xvii] https://southafricatoday.net/media/south-africa-video/racism-videos/south-africa-blf-has-declared-war-on-white-people/
[xviii] In South Africa’s case, where 90% of the politicians and about 80%
of the population can only function to a reasonable level of competency when
under sound and loving supervision, a nationwide national army is the only way…
http://www.douglasschorr.com/2018/11/no-but-you-can-see-witch-doctor.html
[xix] https://www.pulse.ng/bi/lifestyle/here-are-the-countries-with-the-best-and-worst-roads-in-africa
[xx] https://southafricatoday.net/media/south-africa-video/racism-videos/south-africa-blf-has-declared-war-on-white-people/
[xxiv] Aurecon – A global engineering and infrastructure advisory company
… https://www.aurecongroup.com/
