Lerato Kamana
Sometimes I sit and think: How can a country with so much talent still be stuck while the world moves forward?
You open your phone, and the world is talking about AI, renewable energy, digital banks, remote work, space travel.
Meanwhile in Mzansi? We’re still begging for stable electricity. We’re still fighting over potholes and pit toilets. It’s like we’re playing 2025 politics with a 1995 mindset.
The Global Hustle Is Moving Fast
The world isn’t waiting for us. Kids in Kenya are building apps. Farmers in Ghana are using drones. Nigerians are running global tech businesses from their laptops. Meanwhile, here at home, our leaders are still debating things that should’ve been sorted 10 years ago.
China is building smart cities.
India has digital IDs linked to public services.
Rwanda is running government services online.
Even in Zimbabwe, they’re using blockchain for land reform.
And South Africa? We’re still caught between red tape and recycling promises.
The Future is Digital — But Our Politics is Manual
We should be the tech leader of Africa. We have the infrastructure, the minds, the market. But our systems are still manual. SASSA queues instead of mobile payouts. NSFAS drama instead of seamless support. Entrepreneurs struggle to register a business while the world is moving paperless.
We’ve got 5G but still think like we’re on fax machines.
Our Youth are Ready — But the Government Isn’t
Young people in South Africa are hungry. Not just for food — for opportunity. They’re making music, coding apps, creating content, hustling every day. But they get no support. No funding. No fast-track.
If we had a government that thought like the youth — fast, mobile, global — we’d already be a top-tier nation.
We Need Leaders Who Think Like Entrepreneurs
Not just struggle heroes. We need builder heroes. Problem-solvers. People who wake up and ask:
“How do we compete with the best in the world?”
“How do we make this country profitable?”
“How do we build a South Africa that works?”
We Need a Paradigm Shift
We don’t need to copy the West.
We just need to wake up.
Because the world has changed. And if we don’t change with it, we’ll be left behind.
But here’s the truth:
Mzansi doesn’t need to catch up. We just need to switch on.
Let’s modernise.
Let’s digitise.
Let’s lead.
