This is the factor that most people find difficult under the 6th Administration led by President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa which requires sober assessment. South Africa on the one hand is cognizant that we need the most effective people to rescue the economy from Covid-19 downturn, however, those with the skillset by and in large happened to be of an unacceptable colour or simply are not from ANC ranks – members educated in the culture of ANC philosophy. We have reached a Cul-De-Suc mentality which results in unintended consequences of skilled SA leaving and rejecting those wanting to take over the obvious opportunities; The net effect, the wrong or unskilled person assumes the key post. “We must speak the truth even if the truth is akin to what the enemy says”, to quote OR Tambo.

One merely has to assess the service delivery at the local government level, 8 years after a policy decision that all Municipal Managers and Financial Managers have to be certified with proven experience. The school fees at the Municipal level have unintended consequences egotistical and economic. The City of Johannes- burg’s Government of Unity is but a test case.

The Freedom Charter preamble seems to have intentionally forgotten that South Africa belongs to all who live within it. I would hasten to add that for as long as they are Patriotic citizens, it is for the betterment of ALL South Africans. ZK Matthews and his colleagues had the imaginary foresight to pen this cause into the Freedom Charter.

The School of Public Governance which is meant to be the panacea of Patriotic Professional Technocrats have a lagged effect because it has not been seen as fashionable by the brightest or simply not been positioned to be so. That too creates a problem because the loophole is producing the intended purposes resulting in delayed developmental agenda backlog.

We as a country have not placed enough talent and resources in measuring SA Inc human capital in general. If you can’t measure it, you can’t quantify it. Anecdotal evidence reporting has become the feasting ground of the opposition which further adds a layer of reactive response as opposed to the sober assessment required.

We know that states in Europe or the Gulf States or Australasia are recruiting our human resources capital unashamedly and as a Nation, we have no means of preventing it.

The Labour Department coupled with Economic Development finds itself having to do an egg dance as to which skillset is required mostly at our economic trajectory. The BBBEE tenants have not only been narrowly interpreted but even those that find expression have been jaundiced. The purpose of Nedlac has become absolved in being a coordinating entity not only between organized labour and business but most critically educational sector as a whole from basic to tertiary education.

We know that 50% of grade ones don’t make it to Grade 12. The question is why have we not invested enough resources to track and trace kids is supposedly a closed system utilizing the ID and School Data System? Where is the laager effect preventing the proper analysis? Even the assessment of National Senior Certificate assessment has taken the flavour of one percentile. How many passed with an assessment type of pass rate per subject in relation to preparation for economic activity or a specific skill set for tertiary or vocational education? Germany has more pupils taking the TVET route as oppose to our tertiary education system.

Furthermore, SETA’s influence at TVET is not promoted in identifying low hanging fruits to the benefit of the economy right up to planning for Nuclear power human capacity or the so-called New Water Requirements most Municipalities require urgently.

The quality of individuals who reach matric and who get absorbed into the work environment via SARS and National Pollution Regulations Database is not assessed! As an example, in the Class of 2020, how many get registered onto the Tertiary level, which courses they are engaged in, how long does it actually take per 100 000 individuals to exit successfully the Tertiary level? What courses are taken, and the bias of previous schooling or home environment? How is the economy benefiting from these resources when SARS starts recording payment to the fiscus? StasSA questionnaire will require more inputs from an economic output of human capital continuously

Does a National Educational Certification or Independent Educational Certification have any effect on the dropout rate at tertiary level or advancing to post-graduate level certification?

How many of those individuals are still paying taxes to SARS 10 years post-tertiary level leaving and at which bracket level factoring in inflation?

The ability to measure will assist a developmental state to best provide solutions where leakages occur and reward institutions or programs and simply copy institutions that provide the best route to return on investment for the state.

Then the Developmental Agenda will best fit the human capital resources laid with the assessment of fiscal and specific policy formulation.

Our SETAs seem to be doing a great job but are regarded as a ‘break and fix’ department/resources as opposed to being an integral part of those individuals who don’t make it through the tertiary level. Setas roles are meant to direct department/programs of basic education in association with economic development to plug in the skills gap or direct intervention or assessments of human capital perspective.

The state of Israel is to be copied literally because they have an assessment of every school pupil at grades 8 and 10. This affords early intervention of human capital resources on the one hand and more importantly career guidance with fiscus differentiation at high school level as oppose to Mzansi’s position of wanting to fix a plane in mid.

The Covid 19 effects can only but allow us to have clear guidelines of what Developmental Agenda to foster at which pace under scarce resources.

It does not matter if the cat is black or white as long as it catches the rats and mice. The rats and mice will eat through the ship if we do not have preventative measures resulting in the sinking of the economy while others find dry land. Anecdotal reporting states that 38% of Medical Practitioners will leave Mzansi if National Health Insurance is introduced in its proposed format which is not only a dire warning but if so, what policy changes need to be compromised while we moved to an ideal NHI policy framework. South Africa can least afford to lose one more medical practitioner after the effects of Covid never mind NHI inspired exodus.

Burying our heads in the sand will not assist SA Inc but plotting a least-cost route to attracting and training replacements or keeping the medical Practitioners within SARS or South Africa borders.

Bearing this in mind, it seems StatSA cannot afford to have its budget allocation cut if we are to achieve the intended output. It does not matter if the color of the cat as long as it catches the rats and mice.