If this does not show you why education is important, nothing will. Education teaches people to think critically, question assumptions, and separate facts from fiction. Without it, common sense becomes a casualty.
This guy should speak more often. He is doing a great job. The more he opens his mouth the less we have to explain why March and March is rooted in tribalism and hate. We can now simply reply with his clips instead of typing long arguments every time.
Your opinion about Ndlozi struggles is you challenging his ideas yet you accuse him of not having his PHd journey work unchallenged over the years.
What a contradiction of dismissal of academic achievement that is, simply because you basically differ.
Worse u projecting
Fosek!
In many ways the thesis helps explain why Ndlozi often struggles to engage contemporary socioeconomic issues with analytical depth. The same tendency is visible throughout his PhD work. Personal narrative frequently displaces rigorous engagement with competing evidence, alternative explanations and material realities.
That is why we should be cautious about elevating academic credentials above scrutiny. A PhD is not proof of insight. It is not proof of wisdom. It is not proof that one's conclusions are correct. What matters is the quality of the analysis and the willingness to test ideas against evidence.
The danger arises when people mistake academic status for intellectual authority. Scholarship is a living process of challenge, debate and refinement. Once a scholar stops engaging criticism, stops publishing, stops testing ideas in the marketplace of peer review and public scrutiny, their contribution risks becoming academically inert.
Credentials may command attention, but only ideas can earn respect. And ideas that are insulated from challenge eventually become dogma rather than scholarship. The public should judge arguments on their merits, not on the titles that precede someone's name.
Our top universities do know the strategies necessary to achieve 5% GDP growth per year, but parliament and cabinet have ignored the robust strategies and neglected the minimum requirements for credible economic planning and budgeting to create Full-Employment in South Africa.
Are there enough job vacancies to absorb 13m unemployed people in South Africa?
Are there too many businesses offering employment with no takers in RSA?
Is there enough investment in productive infrastructure but no people to use the infrastructure in South Africa.
No, there are not enough job vacancies to absorb South Africaโs unemployed population, nor is there a situation where businesses are offering endless jobs with no takers or infrastructure is sitting idle due to a lack of people.
According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), the official number of unemployed individuals stands at 8.1 million (32.7% unemployment rate). When including discouraged work-seekers and those under-utilised, the broader labor under-utilisation pool is roughly 13.3 million people.
The reality of South Africa's economic structural challenges breaks down into three core areas:
1. Job Vacancies vs. The Unemployed Pool
The total number of formal job vacancies advertised across the country annually is minuscule compared to the millions needing work.
The Math: Historically, formal sector vacancies tracked by the Department of Employment and Labour generally average tens of thousands per quarter, not millions.
Labour
The Growth Gap: Top economists note that South Africaโs economy has grown at an average of less than 1% annually over the last decade. For the economy to absorb the 600,000 new young people entering the workforce each yearโlet alone the existing millionsโthe country requires sustained GDP growth of over 4% to 5%.
2. Market Dynamics: Are Businesses Offering Jobs with No Takers?
There is no widespread trend of formal businesses offering jobs with "no takers". Instead, South Africa suffers from a severe skills mismatch and structural hurdles.
High-Skilled Shortages: There are minor instances where highly specialised roles (such as senior engineers, tech developers, or specialised medical staff) face a shortage of local qualified applicants.
Low-Skilled Oversupply: The vast majority of the 13 million under-utilised individuals have not completed higher education or face severe spatial segregation.
When entry-level or semi-skilled positions are posted, companies routinely receive tens of thousands of applications for a single opening.
The Real Obstacle: Job seekers face high transport costs and geographic isolation from economic hubs, meaning they cannot afford the physical cost of looking for or traveling to work.
3. Productive Infrastructure: Is There Enough Investment?
The country does not have an over-supply of productive infrastructure waiting for people; rather, it has a chronic under-investment and governance crisis.
Investment Deficit: South Africa spends roughly 5.8% of its GDP on infrastructure, whereas the National Development Plan targets a minimum of 10%. President Cyril Ramaphosa estimated that the country faces a multi-trillion Rand financing gap to hit its 2030 infrastructure goals.
Infrastructure Decay: Existing networksโsuch as the rail lines managed by Transnet, water municipal systems, and the energy gridโare suffering from deterioration, vandalism, and poor maintenance.
Project Capacity: Public implementation entities like Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) note that the primary bottleneck is a lack of state technical capacity to package "bankable" projects, not a lack of people to use them once built.
[BREAKING] Ratings agency Fitch has upgraded South Africaโs long-term foreign and local currency credit ratings from 'BB-' to โBBโ with a stable outlook. This is the first upgrade from the ratings agency in nearly 21 years. Tune in to #eNCA, channel #DStv403.
I have been given the great honor by @kimheller3 to contribute a chapter to her seminal book, #WhitePrivilegeBlackPain, it was my further privilege to be part of the panel of the contributors to the book, to discuss the critical central messages of the book at the book launch, at #ExclusiveBooks in Rosebank. Herewith the contributions that I made:
Dr @MbuyiseniNdlozi, I trust you are keeping well and warm during these cold days sweeping across parts of country.๐ฟ๐ฆ
I agree wholeheartedly with you that our engagements should never descend into ad hominem attacks or belittle education. Education must be valued and defended, for it remains the foundation upon which our children build their futures.
At the same time, it is worth remembering that wisdom is not confined to the classroom. Lived experiences also carry deep insights that enrich society. We must appeal to those who are "educated" to be mindful not to present themselves as the sole custodians of knowledge or to treat others as less wise. They should not speak over communities or appear to be lecturing them on how to advance their struggles.
I am of the view that the in public discourse, the "educated strata" of society should set a good example for children, who each morning commit to the disciplined routine of schooling, by showing respect for the voices and lived experiences of those "less educated". Without such respect, children may grow up believing that disregarding the experiences of the "less educated" is the proper way to engage with others.
My good Dr, I will argue that education achieves its highest purpose when it listens, learns, and collaborates with society in humility. In that way, it becomes not only fashionable, but also inclusive and transformative.
Thank you for engaging my post. Wishing you a pleasant weekend.๐๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฆ
I ran my first Comrades in 2016 with only a matric certificate. Completing it made me see that I can conquer anything in life. This is what happened post that:
2017: HC Law.
2022: LLB.
2026: Masters degree in Law. Iโve never missed Comrades ever since.
Iโm already busy with another degree.
For me, Comrades is life.
For the sake of your children, who each morning must wake up and go to school, stop insulting education.
Somehow you have grown accustomed to insulting education as a way to make your arguments. Very tragic culture I must say!
There is no pride in being an ignorant people!
You can perfectly disagree with anyone without insulting education.
Why would you want to breed an education hating nation?
Unless of course, you are working with those who have benefited for centuries out of keeping Africans ignorant!
#MakingEducationFashionable