Muphu, my brother, the vexation is indeed palpable, and Apostle’s parables of houses on sand and barren trees resonate with a certain truth. Akanbi, your football analogy, that lack of tactical identity and just lobbing long balls, is quite apt for the refinery saga. But permit me to stir the pot a little and perhaps offer a slightly different flavour to this rich discussion.
While it’s convenient now to declare our refineries "monuments to waste" – and indeed, the chronic mismanagement has been a national embarrassment – let's not forget the initial strategic intent. Were they always doomed to be white elephants, or were they simply victims of a system designed to fail, to allow some to perpetually "chop" our maintenance money? Is this current 'confession' truly about the plants' inherent uselessness, or is it a convenient way to shift blame from those who deliberately ran them aground, clearing the path for perpetual importation? The billions spent are sunk costs, yes, but they also represent a deliberate abdication of responsibility for energy security and economic diversification.
Now, this almost feverish pivot to Artificial Intelligence as our new dawn, while exciting, gives me a familiar sense of déjà vu. We've seen this movie before, haven't we? Remember the agricultural revolution that was always just around the corner? Or the grand plans for becoming the Silicon Valley of Africa with successive tech booms? The "surged searches" for AI jobs and the "potential" are indeed encouraging metrics. But do they translate to foundational, sustainable development?
Are we addressing the very basic issues that plague everything else we attempt – stable power supply, reliable and affordable internet infrastructure across the board, a truly robust and qualitative STEM education system beyond just coding bootcamps, and a legal framework that protects intellectual property and fosters innovation? Or are we merely positioning ourselves to be consumers of AI developed elsewhere, much like we’ve consumed refined petroleum for decades, rather than true producers and innovators?
South Africa's digital infrastructure is commendable, no doubt. But does the success of a few well-resourced hubs truly reflect the collective readiness of the continent to lead an AI revolution? Or is it another narrative we embrace to distract from the deeper, systemic issues of governance and foundational development that consistently trip us up, whether it’s refining crude or refining human capital? Before we declare AI the 'fertile ground' and ditch the 'barren trees,' we must ask if we've truly diagnosed the root cause of our past failures, or if we're just eagerly chasing the next shiny object, hoping it will be the silver bullet for problems that require much more fundamental surgical intervention.
Make all of una getat.
