The new South African plug came from an attempt by the IEC and CENELEC to come up with a harmonised European plug for 230V 50Hz countries, but it was never adopted due to concerns it would cost a fortune and have no net benefit for European consumers.
It's basically a modernised version of the Swiss system, and had the advantage of remaining compatible with 2-pin, 2.5amp CEE 7/16 plugs which are on most small electronics, mobile phone chargers etc while being recessed, and incapable of accepting Schuko/French earthed plugs.
The downside is that it's also incompatible with common European ungrounded 'contour' plugs - i.e what you'd typically find on a vacuum cleaner or similar appliances.
In general I think Schuko and the French system are safe, at least when shuttered. Like BS1363 they're rather too bulky for what they are.
BS1363's switch is entirely optional. It's really only there as a convenience feature, not a safety one. A lot of items e.g. in the kitchen remain permanently plugged in. So, you just switch them off at the switch. It's the same with say my TV/cable box etc or office, I'd just switch it off at the wall, not unplug it and have to dig around to find the plug again to reconnect it.
The only thing mandatory on BS1363 is shutters and sheathed pins. Obviously earth is also mandatory on all items but the issue with huge 3 pin plugs is largely now over come with many devices, particularly mobile phone chargers having a folding pin for the earth (required to open the socket). A lot of these devices are no longer really any bulkier than 2-pin CEE 7/16 Europlug equivalents.
Samsung mobile phone charger with pin folded - just lift up and insert. These have proven extremely reliable and are common now image:
https://bit.ly/390CDOzIf BS1363 had that configuration with the earth pin close down like that all the time, it would be a FAR more practical connector. It could have been done that way with modern materials, but they were really designed with a big old bakelite, rewirable plug in mind.
