Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube unveils ambitious digital economy and 4IR plan

As the economy of KwaZulu-Natal recovers post Covid-19, the civil unrest and the flood disasters, Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has unveiled an ambitious and bold plan for the province to emerge stronger and be recognised as an economic and technology powerhouse.

Dube-Ncube laid out the plans during the launch of the Mobile Digital Analytics Skills Laboratories at Orient Heights Primary School in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday.

Digital economy

She said KZN has a skilled population and massive potential to grow the digital economy which are key catalysts for a thriving province.

“To take advantage of this digital economy, young people must start working on these technology gadgets you see in this lab today which are linked to Robotics, Drone Technology, Mechatronics and other technologies.

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“As we unveil this project, we want to expose our learners from a young age to a world of new horizons of work and careers which are broadened to include Space Technology, Data Analytics, Multimedia Production l and 9D Technology,” she said.

Mobile lab

The premier said the mobile lab is completely off the grid as it is solar powered and has back-up generators.

“This will ensure that learning and teaching is not affected when there is a power outage.”

Dube-Ncube added that the main objective of the project was to expose school children from an early age as well as youth to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies so that they can have the skills set and entrepreneurial acumen to be part of the multitrillion dollar digital economy.

“In a world characterised by technological disruptions, which has resulted in the biggest companies globally coming from the ICT sector, we believe that we have to assist our children from primary school phase so that they are ready for careers of the future.”

Education

Dube-Ncube said the digitalisation of education in the province has been at the forefront of its agenda.

“The use of technology has been further spurred by Covid-19 which forced us to learn and engage virtually through online platforms.”

“This is the launch of the Connected Smart Province Project, which marks the beginning of a long-term programme that will be rolled out to the rest of the province as part of the move towards the digitisation of our economy,” she said.

“Dube-Ncube said over the coming months KZN will launch similar labs in the rest of the province, district by district.”

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