Members of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation, led by the Honourable Chairperson, Ms Nompendulo Mkhatshwa;
Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Mr Buti Manamela;
Director-General of Science and Innovation, Dr Phil Mjwara;
The entire national system of innovation;
Honourable Members:
The central focus of this year's budget vote of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) is that of accelerating the reversal of the legacies of poverty, inequality and unemployment, whilst addressing critical transitions required in the context of a rapidly changing world shaped by climate change, technological transition, and new shifts in the global economy.
Against this wider context, our budget vote is guided by the 2019 White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) and the Decadal Plan that was approved for implementation by Cabinet in March 2021. The Decadal Plan foregrounds the major societal grand challenges facing our nation.
I must emphasise that our goal is both to ensure a just transition in the traditional economic sectors as well as to lay the foundations for the emergence of new economic sectors.
Honourable Members, the key focus areas of the DSI in 2022 will be on vigorously supporting the government's Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Programme (ERRP); building long-term national capacity to deal with COVID-19 and future pandemic threats; securing higher levels of public and private investment in South African research, development and innovation (RDI); supporting the revitalisation of existing sectors/industries and the exploitation of new sources of economic growth; contributing towards building a capable state; and supporting inclusive education and skills development.
In line with our stated goal to support innovation in South Africa's energy markets, we have launched the Hydrogen South Africa Roadmap, which is aimed at unlocking the potential of new sources of clean energy to facilitate a just transition from a carbon-intensive to a carbon-neutral economy.
At the same time, we continue to modernise existing sectors such as mining through support for research and development (R&D), both to ensure a safer working environment for miners and to increase the lifespan of mining in the country. In addition, we are playing a vital role in the beneficiation of the country's minerals.
Through the South African Mining Extraction Research, Development and Innovation (SAMERDI) strategy, we have invested R226 005 600 towards the modernisation of the country's mining industry.
In October 2021, in partnership with Anglo American Platinum, Bambili Energy and ENGIE, we initiated a feasibility study on the South African Hydrogen Valley, and identified nine catalytic projects across the mobility, industrial and building sectors in the first phase of the hydrogen economy programme.
In terms of platinum's contribution, the study has projected a GDP contribution of up to US$70 million by the South African platinum industry by 2030.
Through the implementation of the South African Hydrogen Valley corridor, which covers the Johannesburg Hub, the Mogalakwena/Limpopo and the Durban/Richards Bay areas, we have the potential to create 14 000 to 30 000 direct and indirect jobs per year by 2030, and by 2050, potentially contribute between $3,9 and $8,8 billion to South African GDP.
I must indicate that the launch of the world's biggest hydrogen-powered truck by Anglo American Platinum at Mogalakwena Mine in Limpopo on 6 May 2022 is an indication of the potential South Africa has to become a significant global player in the hydrogen economy.
In line with our commitment to supporting existing industries to meet South Africa's climate change mitigation targets, we will further develop technologies to reduce emissions from coal-fired boilers in the cement, energy, steel, and paper and pulp industries through the CoalCO2-X project.
To date, we have invested R50 million towards this project, which has allowed local small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) to put in place partnerships to demonstrate the potential of flue gas conversion technology at the PPC cement plant.
We continue to identify grassroots innovators – especially women and youth-led enterprises – in South Africa and to assist them to enhance their innovations and skills through a range of interventions, including funding and business development support towards pre-commercialisation.
We have also made significant strides through the Technology Acquisition and Deployment Fund (TADF) in facilitating the market entry of South African innovations that can improve the delivery of basic services by government and municipalities. This is key to strengthening local and district-level governance.
To support municipalities in driving an innovation-led local economic development (LED) agenda, we have initiated the Innovation Champions for LED Programme, which will be rolled out to all 44 districts in the country in support of the District Development Model (DDM), to ensure that innovation is entrenched at grassroots level.
We have supported and funded over 200 young emerging innovators through our Living Labs Programme in township and rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape and the Free State.
Our Technology Stations Programme (TSP) continues to be a key, cross-sectoral, broad-based technology support programme for companies, especially SMMEs and potential entrepreneurs, increasing the spatial footprint of innovation. The 17 technology stations at 13 universities of technology and comprehensive universities across the country have provided technological support, including support for small-batch production and the development of prototypes, to approximately 2 000 SMMEs.
We have made significant progress in agro-processing value chain development through the implementation of our Agricultural Bio-economy Innovation Partnership Programme (ABIPP). We have intensified our agricultural research efforts, and introduced new smart and climate-sensitive agriculture technologies, in a bid to ensure food security and the modernisation of the South African agricultural sector.
We are also increasing our support for R&D activities in veterinary research, in a bid to tackle persistent animal disease threats such as foot and mouth disease, whilst through the DHET we are working on increased training of veterinary practitioners at different levels.
Honourable Members, we have made tremendous progress in developing South Africa's domestic vaccine manufacturing capability, whilst at the same time strengthening our epidemiological surveillance and strategic decision-making capability on the strength of the COVID-19 National Policy Data Observatory (NPDO) hosted by the DSI.
On the manufacturing side, we are at an advanced stage of establishing Africa's first COVID-19 mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub, with strong public and private sector participation, backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) together with its COVAX partners. This groundbreaking initiative has been hailed by the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as a pioneering trend-setting innovation for the rest of the world.
As part of building South Africa's capabilities for vaccine manufacturing, Biovac (a public-private partnership between the South African government and the Biovac Consortium) entered into a strategic partnership with Pfizer/BioNTech to produce approximately 100 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine annually.
I must say that we see this platform as laying the ground for developing the use of mRNA technologies to develop novel vaccines and therapies for other types of afflictions, including cancer, cardiovascular and auto-immune diseases.
In order to respond to the local and continental demand for COVID-19 testing, and to reduce our dependence on imports, we established a fund which led to the development of two new COVID-19 diagnostic tests, one by Medical Diagnostech and the other by CapeBio. Both of these diagnostic tools have been approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA).
Honourable Members, the recent devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal and other parts of our country not only reminded us of the threats posed by rapid climate change, but also highlighted the vital role of STI in its mitigation and the adaptation of our communities to the new realities.
During these unfortunate floods, we managed to leverage the existing infrastructure and investment made in the national system of innovation by providing critical input using remote sensing technologies, in particular satellites to provide imaging for accurately targeting water flow patterns and their effects on transport infrastructure systems, and data for better spatial planning.
The inputs made by both the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) have been exceptional in terms of working with other government departments, providing decision-support tools, and working closely with the Water Research Commission. This work ranges from road and bridge infrastructure assessments to the Coastal Vulnerability Tool and Index – an interactive decision-support tool and integrated geospatial flooding index for coastal cities and towns that is linked into the South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas (SARVA). Work also includes input on access to health facilities, water quality monitoring and infrastructure.
Also available for immediate use is a mobile water and wastewater treatment system that can be used as an emergency or temporary treatment system directly from source.
Honourable members, this is science, technology and innovation at its very best – at the service of society. For this reason, we will continue to invest significantly in R&D that builds the adaptive capacity and resilience of targeted economic sectors to climate change impacts. This includes heightening our R&D activities in urban and rural spatial planning for future human settlements, although much more public funding is still required.
One of our major preoccupations is to develop a roadmap for science, technology and innovation (STI) for a circular economy, given the pressure of finite natural resources and sensitivity to global warming risks.
Through the Innovation for Service Delivery Programme (ISDP), funded in partnership with the European Union and National Treasury, we have demonstrated pilot technologies and innovations to improve the delivery of basic services by our municipalities. In partnership with the South African Local Government Association, we have expanded the number of municipalities participating in the Municipal Innovation Maturity Index (MIMI). This tool, which is now digitised, provides critical information on the innovation capabilities and readiness of local government to adopt innovation and technology.
Honourable Members, through the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), South Africa has been designated to host a 24/7 Regional Space Weather Centre in Hermanus in the Western Cape by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO). We will officially launch the centre in October this year. The launch of this capability will provide South Africa with the opportunity to showcase the value of science, technology and innovation, and to attract regional and international partnerships to utilise the newly constructed Space Weather Centre.
Significantly, we have also launched three locally produced nanosatellites as part of South Africa's new Maritime Domain Awareness Satellite (MDASat) constellation. The satellites will detect, identify and monitor vessels in near real-time in support of the South African Maritime Domain Awareness Strategy. We have invested over R30 million in the development of this high-tech capability.
Honourable Members, the South African and Australian governments are signatories to co-host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Observatory array telescopes and associated infrastructure to the value of €2 billion over the period 2021-2030. Through the SKA) Observatory, we will be producing a whole new generation of science and scientists, many of whom are now being trained in South Africa.
Our South African companies and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory will benefit immensely from the rolling out of this infrastructure, which includes the building of a SKA Exploratorium in Carnarvon in the Northern Cape. The initiative is expected to boost science awareness and outreach, stimulate science tourism in the region and create employment. In particular, we will also focus on ensuring the production of more black and women scientists and specialists on this front.
The MeerKAT telescope, built by South Africans, does great scientific work and will continue to do so until it is fully integrated into the SKA in the next five to seven years.
Honourable Chairperson, allow me to share with you our plans and upcoming programmes for the next two years of this administration.
Through the Decadal Plan, we have identified the digital economy as one area into which we are going to channel our resources. I have also instructed the National Skills Fund to prioritise training in digital skills, especially for our youth.
We have identified six foundational digital domains on which South Africa should focus its resources for the next 10 years. These domains include artificial intelligence, robotics and cybernetics; augmented, virtual and mixed reality; modelling and simulation; blockchain and cybersecurity; the Internet of things, cloud-to-edge computing, and networking and quantum computing.
All these developments will be implemented as part of the Foundational Digital Capabilities Research (FDCR) programme.
We are currently developing a business case for the establishment of a national solar research facility that will support the development, commercialisation and deployment of solar-based technologies for application in both the solar power and fuel sectors in order to facilitate the movement of technologies from laboratory to market. More details will be shared on this work going forward.
As part of ensuring greater whole-of-government and whole-of-society innovation, we have already begun with a new institutional architecture to build better coordination, cohesion and direction in how STI resources are used. In this regard, firstly, we have already begun with the work of the standing ministerial-level STI committee, involving key ministries and chaired by myself. Secondly, the President of the Republic will host an annual STI Plenary which will include business, government, academia and civil society. This will place STI issues at the centre of the national developmental agenda.
We are also leading the open science policy development process to develop a clear vision and rules of the game for open science, with the support of the DSI-convened Open Science Advisory Board and three experts.
To encourage the private sector to invest in research and development, government has extended the current tax research incentives dispensation until 31 December 2023. This will allow for certainty and planning around incentives.
Beyond this, we are firmly committed to leveraging both public and private resources to increase gross domestic investment in research and development as a percentage of gross domestic product, with the aim of achieving the National Development Plan's target of 1,5%.
As I conclude, South Africa will be first country in Africa to host the World Science Forum (WSF), a biennial international conference series on global science policy that brings together leading scientists, researchers, private sector players, civil society and global media to discuss the challenges facing science and societies in the 21st century. I invite you all to this hybrid event, which will be held in Cape Town from 5 to 9 December 2022.
Honourable Members, the DSI's total budget is R9,1 billion for 2022/23, up from R8,9 billion in 2020/21. The majority of the Department's budget is spent on transfers to entities, with the National Research Foundation receiving the single largest share.
Honourable Chairperson, I would like to restate that the DSI is steadfast in its commitment to the full utilisation of science, technology and innovation to support the sustainable and inclusive development of South Africa's society and economy, with particular emphasis on the marginalised and poor.
The true purpose of science, technology and innovation lies in the quest for securing an ensuring and equal human freedom for all our people in a vibrant democracy – free of hunger, alienation, prejudice and ignorance. It is a science truly at the service of society.
In conclusion, I extend my gratitude to the Honourable President, Deputy President, Cabinet Colleagues, Deputy Minister Manamela, the Chairperson and members of the Portfolio Committee for their support and guidance.
Gratitude also goes to my wife, my staff in the Ministry, and to the Director-General, Dr Phil Mjwara, and the entire Executive Management Committee and staff of the Department, and the Boards, Executives and staff at all our entities and institutions, and everybody who contributed towards the achievement of our policy mandate.
Thank you.
