President appoints Commission on Fourth Industrial Revolution

9 April 2019

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed members of the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) which will assist government in taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the digital industrial revolution.

The task of the Commission, which will be chaired by the President, is to identify relevant policies, strategies and action plans that will position South Africa as a competitive global player.

The Deputy Chair of the Commission is University of Johannesburg Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, whose expertise spans the theory and application of artificial intelligence to engineering, computer science, finance, social science and medicine.

In his State of the Nation Address to a Joint Sitting of Parliament on Thursday, 7 February 2019, President Ramaphosa said South Africa had chosen to be a country of the future at a time when the world was changing at a pace and in a manner that was unprecedented in human history.

He said revolutionary advances in technology were reshaping the way people work and live.

“Unless we adapt, unless we understand the nature of the profound change that is reshaping our world, and unless we readily embrace the opportunities it presents, the promise of our nation’s birth will forever remain unfulfilled,” the President said.

In the same Address, the President announced the establishment of a Presidential Commission on 4IR.

In establishing the Commission, a public consultation process was undertaken to attract eminent people who possess relevant skills and knowledge required to drive 4IR. 

The 30-member Commission, Chaired by the President, comprises eminent persons from different sectors of society and reflects a balance in gender, youth, labour and business including digital start-ups as well as digital entrepreneurships.

The commissioners (whose profiles can be viewed in an annexure at https://bit.ly/2ELYzQ8) are:

Prof Tshilidzi Marwala (Deputy Chair)
Prof Chris Michael Adendorff
Ms Beth Arendse
Mr Thulani Humphrey Dlamini
Mr Abdul Razak Esakjee
Dr Bernard Lewis Fanaroff
Mr Michael Gastrow
Mr Xolile Christopher George
Ms Charmaine Houvet
Dr Prince Senyukelo Jaca
Mr Tervern Liaan John Jaftha
Mr Mohamed Shameel Joosub
Ms Marinda Kellerman
Ms Nomso Kana
Mr Baxolile Mabinya
Mr Rendani Mamphiswana
Ms Lindiwe Matlali
Mr Calvo Mawela
Ms Busisiwe Mbuyisa
Ms Nomvula Mkhonza
Mr Vukani Mngxati
Mr Joseph Ndaba
Mr Andile Ngcaba
Dr Nompumelelo Happworth Obokoh
Mr Rendani Praise Ramabulana
Mr Leon Desmond Rolls
Dr Sibongiseni Thotsejane
Mr Gerhard van Deventer
Mr Ben Venter, and
Ms S’onqoba Vuba

Operational support to the Commission will be provided by a secretariat of officials of various national departments, led by the Department of Communications.

President Ramaphosa has wished the Commission well in its endeavours and has expressed his appreciation to commissioners for availing themselves to serve the nation in an important determinant of South Africa’s development trajectory in the coming years and decades.

Minister of Communications Ms Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, who is the coordinator of government’s 4IR programme, is due to convene an induction session with appointed commissioners, after which the Commission will have its inaugural meeting with the President.

Issued by The Presidency, 9 April 2019