Beyond photo ops — what SA needs from Ramaphosa’s Silicon Valley trip

Résumé détaillé

A president accompanied by eight ministers and an extensive delegation owes the public a clear explanation of what requires their collective presence and what South Africa expects…

A president accompanied by eight ministers and an extensive delegation owes the public a clear explanation of what requires their collective presence and what South Africa expects to gain from it. The country needs AI deals that protect sovereignty, jobs, data and public interests.

Tjo! Being unable to reach a gathering on the technological future because the present has broken down is absurd! I am tickled! As I write, I am still in Washington, unable to travel to California to moderate an event during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Silicon Valley visit

When I began this piece on Friday, America’s aviation system was descending into chaos and the explanation doing the rounds was an “AI glitch”. By Saturday, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said there was no evidence of anything AI-related. The problem, American officials explained, lay in the telecommunications network: during work to replace old copper lines with fibre, a router had flooded other routers with connection attempts.

I have no bloody clue what a distressed router says to another router, but I understand the consequences well enough. I am still grounded and there is no indication of when I might get to fly. The irony of a country selling the world its technological future yet unable to get its air traffic in order!

Meanwhile, the transatlantic choreography offers its own entertainment. I spent days on the phone asking if Ramaphosa’s adventure was REALLY happening. I had reason to be sceptical. This week, the State Department announced its huge delegation to the Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town, accompanied by tech bosses and innovators. Watching these interests cross the Atlantic in opposite directions, I wonder why bringing them together on South African soil was not the centrepiece of a presidential engagement, followed by a more targeted American visit. It’s strange but here we are!

There may be a persuasive answer though. Stanford’s laboratories and the headquarters of technology companies offer access…

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