Premier David Makhura speaking on 4IR.
The gala dinner formed part of the 2022 THENSA conference on “University, Business and Partnerships: A driver for 4IR Solutions Post COVID-19”.
Welcoming Premier Makhura to the event hosted at Monte Casino on 17 March, Prof Tinyiko Maluleke, TUT’s Vice-Chancellor and Principal, noted that Gauteng is already the heart of South African economy.
In his address titled “The role of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in advancing Gauteng’s Transformation and Sustainable Development Agenda”, Premier Makhura discussed the South African situation, explaining that the 4IR “should be located within the context of other mega-trends and driving forces of major transitions and transformation that deserve equal attention from policymakers, industry leaders, academia and the media”. Such megatrends could include climate change, pandemics, war, urbanisation and inequality – especially digital inequality. Makhura cautioned that “it is not obvious that everyone will benefit from the digital revolution because it is a period of great promise and peril.”
However, Makhura was clear about the 4IR imperative and the need for everyone, including universities of technology, government and society at large, to boldly embrace it.
“South Africa is also moving fast to a future in which 41% of current jobs will be rendered obsolete by automation, while 35% of skills that are considered important in today’s workforce, will have changed beyond recognition, while others would have disappeared completely,” said Makhura.
Makhura congratulated TUT for its foresight in establishing the Institute for the Future of Work (IFOW) and pledged that the Gauteng Province government was ready to collaborate with TUT.
While the premier invited all Gauteng-based institutions of higher learning to partner with his government, he singled out the unique and special role of universities of technology in the province.
Please click here to access Premier David Makhura’s full speech.