Everybody is talking about the South African power shortage. To be in vogue, here is my contribution.
Vivian MacFadyen
There is an untapped natural and indestructible resource that is available countrywide. If harnessed, this force will almost eliminate household reliance on electricity for heating purposes. There is however, a challenge for engineers to capture this energy whilst active. It is elusive, and is only fully appreciated by the masses. It is the blast of hot air expelled from the mouths of those intent on self-advancement or empowerment, and individuals avoiding responsibility for their inaction. They conceal their ignorance and hide their incompetence by making illogical statements. At the same time, they score points with the masses by having the last word irrespective of legitimacy.
I have repeatedly highlighted the skills shortage (drain) in South Africa, and the power situation is purely a symptom of this loss. The next casualty will possibly be the petroleum supply; already there have been serious accidents in refineries. This will be even worse for the average person than the electrical power crises. Those few fortunate persons who have diesel generators to overcome the electricity shortage will have no diesel for their expensive alternatives.
We are now so deep into the mess that it will take many years to get ourselves out of it. If we do not do something urgently, the future of our offspring will be subsistence farming on barren land.
It is high time we relinquished the ties of ignorance and prejudice, so that we can recover from this dismal situation. Education and experiential training is the answer, but this will take 20 years to achieve. We need to bring to an end the evacuation of skilled persons and shrewdly use our remaining resources. We have many highly skilled individuals who are being blocked from participation in the recovery, we have reached a point where we need to start thinking…
International robotics conference streams live to Africa
SAIMC
The SAIMC hosted five live-stream viewing events across South Africa for the IEEE International Conference of Robotics and Automation in Vienna, bringing global robotics research and technology directly to local industry and academia.
Read more...From the office of the CEO: Introduction to GRIP SAIMC
SAIMC
Industry has long been concerned about graduates who have no understanding of the modern equipment they will face in industry. This has triggered an investigation into the possibility of creating a facility whereby graduates register with the SAIMC and rotate through all the vendors to obtain experience on modern equipment.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The SAIMC Durban Branch hosted a technology meeting featuring a presentation by Abacus Automation on the practical role of AI in industrial automation, drawing considerable interest from attendees.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
Instrotech recently hosted a technical presentation on load cell technology and applications at the SAIMC Johannesburg Technology Evening, presented by Trevor Salzwedel. The session covered load cell fundamentals, selection and installation, mechanical considerations and calibration methods.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg Golf Day SAIMC
SAIMC
The SAIMC Johannesburg Golf Day on 22 May 2026 brought together 16 four-balls for a day of golf, networking and fundraising, with generous support from sponsors across the instrumentation and control sector.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The Johannesburg Branch had the privilege of being hosted by Phoenix Contact for our technology event in May. Shamil Surbun, BU manager for Automation, presented a CPD-accredited session on ‘From Sensor to Cloud: How SPE and APL Are Transforming Industrial Connectivity’.
Read more...From the office of the CEO: Power Hour goes national SAIMC
SAIMC
South Africa’s automation, control, mechatronics and computer engineering community is changing fast, and the SAIMC is changing with it. I am excited to announce a new national initiative that will reshape how we deliver technical knowledge, strengthen branch identity and bring our community together like never before.
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