Electricity + Control March 2017

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Electricity+Control is supported by:
Ihave 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 point I pondered was how rapidly things can change. One day
the world has a certain meaning; the next it is different.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Why not?
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.
I look forward to seeing that happen.
Ian Jandrell
Pr Eng, BSc (Eng) GDE PhD,
FSAIEE SMIEEE
COMMENT
1 March ‘17 Electricity+Control