Electricity + Control March 2017

COMMENT

I have just spent a few days in the midst of a tropical storm. Clas- sic stuff: strong winds in one direction; lots of rain – then clam. Strong winds in the opposite direction; lots of rain. How quickly it all changed. The area I was in had been as dry as can be before the storm. And the storm was wonderful – notwithstanding the havoc it wreaked in other areas. The State of the Nation Address (SONA) was, to me, an event that could have made such change happen – but it did not live up to that: Not in the sense that remarkable things were not said (some truly remarkable things were said); but in the sense that no one expected anything different. There was no surprise; no ‘ah-ha’ moment that could have filled the nation with a sense of opportunity and excite- ment. We seem to miss some incredible opportunities – and our focus (as individuals, and industry, and indeed as a nation) seems to be on the short term and (presumably) issues that have a very local or personal flavour; rather than those of the State and the Nation. And the Economy. The point I pondered was how rapidly things can change. One day the world has a certain meaning; the next it is different.

My suspicion is that the energy (in the traditional big-grid as well as the micro-grid and off-grid sense) automation, mechanisation, benefi- ciation, and some others will see many elements of African industry leap-frogging the rest of the world. Can it be done? Well of course it can.The key issue has always been the investment in existing infrastructure as an impediment to theWill to change – and we have some of that; but generally this is the Continent where massive (unparalleled) urbanisation will see the emergence of entrepreneurs and opportunities to invest in a brand new kit – opti- mising process efficiency and establishing what could well become international benchmarks in a variety of industries. My sense, in particular after watching a bit of the SONA, is how little governments really do in terms of game-changing ideas and opportuni- ties. It is the common people that make the change.To be blunt, it is all of us, in industry, that can (dare we say, in spite of the assistance of law makers) actually make a difference, revolutionise our industry – and effectively shoot the lights out. I suspect we are nearing a state when this momentum will build – and it is private industry that engages to carve out the future success of this Continent. Why not?

I look forward to seeing that happen.

There is nothing wrong with any of that, of course. It is just that the big picture is far more likely to produce a better outcome for everybody.

In this regard, I again reflect on the massive opportunities that this continent offers – and the fact that some pundits predict that both Nigeria and South Africa will be in the top thirty international econo- mies in the year 2050. Probably not a bad place to be. The world then, will be very different. Now that does not just happen – but it is opportune for all of us to reflect on what it is we can do to be part of the ongoing emergence of this Continent.

Ian Jandrell Pr Eng, BSc (Eng) GDE PhD, FSAIEE SMIEEE

It is equally incumbent on lawmakers to look that far ahead, and try to predict what it is that we need to do to reach that goal.

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March ‘17 Electricity+Control

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