Zola Radebe-Ntereke of KwaThema writes:
In his state of the province address on March 27, Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina announced plans to establish a university on Gauteng’s East Rand.
The R5-billion institution is set to focus on science and technology.
Now, trust me when I say that this is the most exciting news I have heard about Ekurhuleni since Masina took office.
Kwatsaduza residents would be glad if the university could be built in one of our townships.
This will certainly change the perception held by some that we are treated as the poor cousins of Ekurhuleni.
I’m sure most residents, who, like me, are avid readers and those who are always keen to feed their brains with information are singing the mayor’s praises.
It may sound cliché, but education helps us not look forward in anger nor backward in fear, but around ourselves in awareness.
A few weeks ago, a reporter from this newspaper wrote a piece on the importance of reading books and visiting the library.
It was lucidly written – I must add.
Reading doesn’t necessarily end with obtaining a qualification from a tertiary institution, it can be anything
from going through words on a can of Coca-Cola, reading a pamphlet lying on the street to reading a Chappies wrapper.
Africa is contemplating the coming Fourth Industrial Revolution.
We know the First Industrial Revolution, from 1760 to 1840, was epitomised by the growth of industries like textile, railroads and iron, the second revolution, from 1870 to 1914, saw the expansion of electricity, petroleum and steel, and the third by the technical evolution, including 3D-printing and green electricity.
Now the much-talked-about Fourth Industrial Revolution will unveil a new chapter of human development, how people live, work and relate to one another.
Much as there is good news that comes with it, it should be remembered that no revolution comes without risks.
In this case, it is rising joblessness.
With artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles it is a sad reality that many people will add to the unemployment statistics that are increasing at an alarming rate.
This takes me back to my point of the importance of reading.
Reading enables people to be knowledgeable.
They can even start their own businesses.
Pop-up shops come to mind, as does developing mobile phone apps and coding.
The principle that reading makes people knowledgeable also applies to the big mamma who sells her vegetables at the street corner.
With the reading skill, she can learn how to use a speed-point for payments.
Also, the influx of style-conscious males has seen even the not-so metrosexual opting for barber shops instead of hair salons.
With some knowledge incurred through reading, Sipho the barber can learn a thing or two about opening his barbershop.
I cannot emphasise the importance of education enough, but as Nelson Mandela once said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”.
I, with all due respect, would like to urge the mayor to consider building the university in Kwatsaduza.
This part of Ekurhuleni is not so developed as compared to Kathorus.
I feel we are abandoned, we are not treated as Ekurhuleni residents, but as poor cousins.
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