Introduction

According to Worldometers the latest estimations of South Africa’s population ranks 25^th in the list of countries by population with a population of 55 340 863 which is equivalent to 0.74% of the total world population. Only 64.3% of the population is urban, therefore, from 55 340 863 only 35 633 585 of these people are urban. This means that 35.7% of the South African population have limited access to occupations and occupational mobility; there has been no change and no social adaptability because unlike in the city the chance of fast changing life is low. Rural societies have no division of labour because the job opportunities are not those that require specialization, there are very few chances of employment and incentive to the unemployed.

 

Industry 4.0 is the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies, which includes cyber-physical systems, the internet of things and cloud computing. It creates what is known as a smart factory. The fourth industrial revolution comes with a number of advantages and disadvantages which cater both to the urban and rural areas of a country, however in more ways than one; industry 4.0 comes with many disadvantages to developing nations such as that of South Africa. The introduction of new technological improvements that are brought to improve our lives such as dishwashers, laundry machines, garden appliances, etc. all great for reducing the workload however, these are skills for some people and are their source of income; this factor shows that the introduction of technological advancements reduces employment increasingly as in most cases it seeks to replace the worker with a self-operating machine, the advantage in this case is that the owner of the laundry machine will save money by removing monthly/weekly wages into paying a once-off deal. The occurrence of the gap between the urban and rural populations is induced by the ever increasing and improving technology within the urban area. Urban areas represent development whereas rural areas represent underdevelopment, this imbalance of development and underdevelopment is the main basis of societal division caused by imbalance between the haves and the have-nots.

Conclusion

Increasing unemployment creates a greater gap and economic imbalance within the state; the state will have the responsibility to assist those that are disadvantaged which is a national responsibility, the capital used for social grants are more likely to increase each year which eventually will result in a developing country not having sufficient amount of capital to continuously improve their technology compared to the developed nations. As we all know that technology improves every single day and most developing countries are already behind and hardly catch up, the inability to provide equal distribution of resources results in a societal divide by poverty with regards to economic stability amongst societies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the human race, there have been surveys to prove that we all have the intrinsic need to change things that don’t please us, however in many cases we never know where to begin or that we may also have issues obtaining the necessary resources to innovate this change. Gavin Mageni expresses how the citizens of South Africa have the potential and ability to bring about change in our country.

The term “Design” can be defined as “a Purpose, planning or intention that exists to exit behind an action”, therefore Mageni introduces the “design” concept within the democratic regime and how it can be used to develop new solutions to the problems facing the country.

The key to beginning this task of innovative change, as an individual, is the paradigm shift in one’s way of thinking. Exploring new ways of viewing your world and reasoning capacity allows room for a number of issues that need to be taken into consideration for achieving the desired outcomes.

South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rate which is 26.7% according to trading economics, this is caused by the lack of qualifications and skills, however the rate of graduate unemployment is just as high which too is a huge problem facing the country because when applying for employment, regardless of the qualifications, the employer always seeks for “Experience” which in all reality is absurd for a 22-year-old to have acquired 4 years’ worth of experience.

How then do we expect the employment rate to be reduced?

This is a socio-economic challenge and can also be viewed as a cultural distortion that our country is constantly facing regardless of the which sector it may be. Entrepreneurship has always been the best strategy to conquer this issue. A question is posed: how can graduate unemployment be vanquished for fields that cannot be translated into entrepreneurship?

The answer to that is to have a policy that alters the “Experience” required only with the exception of achieving specific requirements for the course. This then will ensure that the democratic understanding of Mageni that is “for me, by me” is evidently achieved and will them allow room for the economic change within the state. 

 

Matsane Galaletsang

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