Opportunity Issue 88 - Sept-Oct 2018

FOREWORD
What the fourth
industrial revolution
means for SA business
Alan Mukoki,SACCI CEO
As we draw close to the end of
another year, SACCI is reviewing
developments that took place
during 2018, and that have had a
bearing on business going into 2019.
SACCI will be hosting its 2018 annual
convention on 8 November at the Hilton
Hotel in Sandton. The topic and theme for
discussion is “Innovation and the Fourth
Industrial Revolution”.
The fourth industrial revolution has
underpinned most global debates this
year, from the WEF Davos meeting,
through to the 2018 BRICS meeting
(held in Johannesburg in July). It will
most likely also feed into the major
themes of discussions at the G20 and
WEF in 2019.
In October, we saw the conclusion
of the presidential Jobs Summit, the
announcement of a stimulus package
by government to alleviate poverty,
inequality and unemployment, and the
Investment Summit.
Social partner discourse throughout
this year has revolved around jobs and
investment summits’ preparations and
outcomes. Business has come to the
table with some new, innovative collaborations
in an effort to increase job
creation and employment – through the
KYB Incubator early childhood development
projects, the employment wage
incentive remaining in place, and the
youth employment service initiative.
Labour has pushed for the same results
but indicated that it is against the
digitalisation of jobs in the name of economic
growth. Fair enough, but there’s
more debate that needs to take place on
how South Africa moves with the times
in an age of social media prevalence and
digital disruption, while still holding
onto traditional labour and capital production
functions.
Government has had its own battles
trying to establish a renewed public
sector and re-build trust in the system,
while trying to innovate and remain
relevant. The 2017 Zuma and Gupta
debacle around state capture is only
becoming fully known now through
the Zondo Commission, and various
other commissions of inquiry into
institutions such as SARS. President
Ramaphosa announced a succinct stimulus
package promising a lot. As was
commented on by SACCI at the time,
there is still a lot of detail missing on
how exactly the stimulus package will
be financed and distributed to truly
spur economic growth and address
the country’s many challenges. We
wait and see what Minister Mboweni’s
first medium-term budget and budget
speech deliver in this regard. We also
anticipate possible findings from the
commissions of inquiry around the
repatriation of looted assets, a reform
of state-owned entities, and possible
follow up on the finding’s or former
President Mbeki’s high-level panel on
illicit financial flows.
What is clear is that the gaps are
big. The needs are big. But what concrete
proposals and implementation
strategies will be used to actually
achieve outcomes for the benefit of all?
Innovation and technologies, leap-frogging
as most call it, is key to overcoming
such challenges as climate change. But
will South Africa be able to traverse this
path without conflict? We have seen
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