Recommendations of the PC4IR Report
4TH QUARTER 2020
In early August, President Cyril Ramaphosa received the report by the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (PC4IR) from Communications and Digital Technologies Minister, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, and Deputy Chairperson of the Commission, Professor Tshilidzi Marwala.
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THE COMMISSION, comprised of leaders from academia, business and civil society, began its work in May 2019, combining research and stakeholder engagements to generate a comprehensive view of South Africa’s prevailing conditions and the prospects of the 4IR. The PC4IR report contains key recommendations to guide South Africans in crafting a shared 4IR future. Professor Marwala made a long and short version of the report public on Twitter on 25 October. The report has also been published in the Government Gazette. The report comperatively assessed country-level 4IR strategies from around the world to establish best practice and identify unique opportunities for the country. The comparative assessment came up with four pillars or themes which serve as a guidance for the design of a comprehensive strategy. These are: - Investment in human capital - Infrastructure for industry and human capital - Technological Direction - Funding the 4IR The PC4IR report found that the 4IR is an opportunity for South Africa to integrate itself into the broader African market. “By supporting SMMEs to develop technology that will optimise the delivery of services in sectors such as health, education and transport, we can simultaneously enhance the wellbeing of our citizens and become globally competitive,” says the report. The report’s authors believe that 4IR technology will also lead to South Africa’s social-economic integration into the African continent. “By doing this, we can catalyse dramatic socio-economic improvements in South Africa, a tide that must be intentionally directed to lift your compatriots across the continent of Africa. That means not only resolving the triple challenge through technology, but using technology as an instrument through which to achieve a much bolder development plan in which South Africa is not emerging but rather accomplished, amongst nations. The 4IR is an opportunity to achieve South Africa’s Vision 2030 and beyond”.
The PC4IR report calls for an investment in Human Capital. It points out that South Africa’s “greatest opportunity and greatest resource” is her people.”The 4th IR gives us a rallying point of urgency and an opportunity to redesign, streamline and align the education system through a co-ordinated, robust, multi-stakeholder process. The purpose of version 2.0 of our skills ecosystem will be to leapfrog our youth into productive work and resell current workers for job retention and ongoing productive work in the economy,” it states. The report calls on: - Government to make investment in Human Capital a priority for the Human Resources Development Council (HRDC), assisted by the PC4IR and driven by the Digital Skills Forum - Business to engage in skills needs and collaborate on strategic projects for mass skills development linked to industry - Labour unions to review their role in light of 4IR and recommend appropriate worker protections, collaborating with the government to look to implement these - Academic institutions to review curriculums in light of the 4IR and ensure the relevance of qualifications with a focus on the requisite skills and the principle of lifelong learning. The PC4IR report also recommends that government, together with the private sector establish an AI Institute with a mandate that includes among other things research and development; training and ensuring positive social impact. “Artificial intelligence is a bedrock technology in the 4IR, underpinning the growing connections in cyber-physical and biological systems.” The report calls on: - Businesses to engage with the institute to collaborate on implementation, starting with pilots which are followed by full implementation - Labour unions to drive training on AI for their members
