As this edition of Electricity + Control goes to print, Electra Mining Africa 2024 is in full swing – and this year’s show is the biggest yet in the event’s history. This is perhaps in part a reflection of renewed buoyancy in the South African economy – galvanised by a sense of fresh energy in the recently formed GNU and, at least in some areas, a commitment to taking action and getting things done. Undoubtedly it is buoyed further by loadshedding receding dramatically over the past several months – allowing industry, businesses, institutions and organisations, as well as households – to operate more smoothly and consistently.
In a media briefing ahead of the show, hosted by the organiser of Electra Mining, the Montgomery Group, economist Dawie Roodt, the guest speaker, noted that despite this promising sense of optimism, South Africa has a long road to travel to overcome the reversals the country has experienced over the past decade and more. This in the context of a world in transformation at many different levels. After he had outlined the major obstacles the country is facing, including, among other things, the destruction of SOEs and consequent failures in infrastructure, largely dysfunctional local government and an unsustainable debt to GDP ratio, an inadequate tax base and the astonishing revelation that there are more people working in government than in the (formal) private sector, one of the questions put to Roodt was: what would he do first to begin tackling the turnaround the country needs.
Surprisingly he said: “Start with the small, simple things. They may seem inconsequential, but for one, clean things up. Clean up the streets, clean up our cities, clean up the countryside. Fix the traffic lights. This builds confidence,” he said. It signals that government is paying attention and putting its resources to work. It also engenders pride – pride in the country and in one’s work – and an enthusiasm to build back better and smarter.
Electra Mining Africa showcases some of the remarkable innovations developed by South African companies and the technologies, skills, services and solutions that local and international companies bring to industry in SA and the sub-Saharan Africa region.
Against this background, in this issue of Electricity + Control we feature: Control systems + automation, Drives, motors + switchgear, Measurement + instrumentation, and Transformers, substations + cables.
We see how digitalisation and automation are taking industries forward, improving efficiencies, performance and productivity. We see how some South African companies are extending their reach into other African countries, working with local people or already established businesses there and serving new markets. And we see how the newly established NTCSA, the first independent subsidiary company formed in the unbundling of Eskom, is moving ahead in engaging private sector companies in the implementation the Transmission Development Plan – to progress the engineering, procurement and construction of now urgently needed power transmission substations, power lines and more. This opens significant demand for local manufacturers in this and related fields.
There is also more of interest – and value to our readers – in Xolile Msimanga’s piece on the role of leadership in empowering the workforce in the energy sector (and other sectors, similarly). Msimanga has recently taken up the position of Secretary General at SANEA; her article is in our regular column on Reskilling, upskilling and training. In Engineering the future, we share news from MIT – reporting on energy start-up VEIR’s development of superconducting power transmission lines, capable of carrying more power over long distances within the same footprint as traditional HV lines. And Write @ the back, Marelli Botha, Technical Director at Zutari, outlines the possibilities of industrial ecology – as a model for deep sustainability.
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