28 Aug 2019

Ministries, departments and entrepreneurs must integrate responses towards the fourth industrial revolution, says Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Mr Thapelo Olopeng.

He said this during the commencement of a two-day forum in Gaborone recently intended to facilitate dialogue on the fourth industrial revolution, and improve strategies geared towards the transformation of Botswana from an upper middle income country to a high income country by 2036. 

Mr Olopeng said the country should review its readiness for the fourth industrial revolution  and move towards actionable tasks and targets in order to ensure that the country derived benefits as per Vision 2036 and NDP 11 aspirations. 

He said emerging opportunities and challenges of the fourth industrial revolution needed to be considered and evaluated with appreciation of the local, regional and global perspectives of the revolution.

He noted that on August 1 the ministry launched the month of science under the theme: Embracing rapid technology for sustainable development. He added that it was an effort to familiarise Batswana with technologies and how the world stood to benefit. 

“These rapid technologies collectively constitute the fourth industrial revolution and are disruptive because they bring about drastic economic, political, industrial and societal changes,” he said. 

He noted that African heads of state and decision makers had highlighted science, technology and innovation through Agenda 2063 as key enablers in promoting the ability of African countries to achieve their economic transformation and socio-economic goals. 

The high level panel and NEPAD agency of the African Union, said Minister Olopeng, had in 2018 launched a dialogue forum on innovation and emerging technologies with the goal of developing science and technology among Africans. 

Vice Chancellor of Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Professor Otlogetswe Totolo also noted that the fourth industrial revolution would be the greatest disruptor of our time.

He said the digitisation of things would significantly affect all facets of life including job creation, productivity, markets and the global economy. He said it called for the country to ready itself to face the challenges that come with the revolution.

Professor Totolo also emphasised the need for the country to come up with diversification strategies to reduce over reliance on minerals. 

He said significant infrastructure development needed to take place in the country in order to carry economic activities that could transform the country. He noted that it was a trade off that had happened throughout past industrial revolutions in developed countries.

He added that the fourth industrial revolution was a tool that could be effective in increasing productivity in the country. 

Moreover, he said the country needed to understand the disruptions that the fourth industrial revolution would bring in order to integrate solutions in national development plans.  The fourth industrial revolution is a trend in which technologies are changing the spatial and temporal environment in which mankind live, making significant re-configurations to the way in which humans live. Ends