Debate on Vote 35: Science, Technology and Innovation
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Honourable Shelley Makhubela.
Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Honourable Prof. Blade Nzimande.
Honourable members of the Portfolio Committee.
Director-General of our Department, Dr Mlungisi Cele.
Chairpersons and CEOs of our entities.
Exco and Officials of our Department.
Ladies and gentlemen.
Honourable Chairperson, it is our humble honour to table this budget together with Minister Prof. Nzimande.
We continue to work hand in glove with the political leadership in ensuring that the Department pivots the system to address the grand challenges that the Decadal Plan has identified. We argue that STI cannot afford to be beneficial only to the elite and leave the rest of society, especially the township and rural areas, including women, underserved.
The Department is beginning to be proactive in going out to engage society, education, and industries, and this includes our proactive approach at the sub-national level of government to locate STI at the centre of all the important endeavors.
This is the world we find ourselves living in, where science, technology, and continuous innovation are the locus of social development. And so, this Department is at the cockpit of catalyzing STI-driven development.
Chairperson, as we grab the bull by its horns in an attempt to achieve the goals of the Decadal Plan, we know that it is not a walk in the park. The huge challenge facing the National System of Innovation is the systemic underfunding as reflected by low levels of Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development, which remains under 1.5% of the GDP. South Africa remains at the bottom of all OECD countries in funding RDI.
With this grim picture of system underfunding, we have chosen to steam ahead and make use of the minimum in our disposal rather than pausing until the system is well funded. Gillian Flynn, the American author and screenwriter, would have had us in her mind when she spoke about the fact that “Pivoting requires immersion, not just observation”; she advised us that “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”
1. Taking STI to the sub-national level.
Honourable chairperson, in our efforts to take Science, Technology, and Innovation to sub-national levels of government, including education and society, in order to give concrete expression to the Decadal Plan, we have established a structured way of working directly with all District Municipalities and Metros in the country within the context of the District Development Model (DDM). We are mapping out plans in line with the developmental needs of the districts by infusing a science, technology, and innovation lens.
2. Building industry relationship with STI.
Chairperson, one of the stark challenges we seek to address is the industry's relationship with science, technology, and innovation.
The government appreciates the fact that without industry investment in innovation, we will not succeed as a country in advancing in tandem with the rest of the world**.** Accordingly, we have begun a process of engaging the business leadership closely in this regard to invest in the STI for the country.
We have begun setting up Working Groups and workstreams with some large national corporations to build industry partnerships.
3. Catalyzing the Uptake of STEM Subjects to Improve the Pipeline.
We are leading a campaign to promote the uptake of mathematics and science, with much interest, targeting schools, working together with the Basic Education Department. We are hosting District and Circuit-level Schools clusters on Career Expos to expose learners to career choices within the STEM environment.
Part of this work includes educating teachers to encourage learners to take up mathematics, science, and accounting subjects rather than social subjects at high school.
Honourable members, we are determined to change the face of the STEM professional pipeline in South Africa. The profile of our professional pipeline is overwhelmingly white, male, and urban. Women and rural people are underrepresented. Transformation of the STI in its class composition, gender, and race is fundamental to our agenda.
4. Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS).
We continue to elevate the work around the indigenous knowledge system (IKS). To add from the Minister, the Department has worked with the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Northwest University, and University of Venda to pilot the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) qualification for Traditional Health Practitioners**.**
Our highlight in the IKS work is that a total of 96 students graduated with their Bachelors of Indigenous Knowledge Systems from the University of North West. This programme has been funded by the Department since 2013, and the student intake has been growing exponentially over the years.
5. Grassroots Innovators
Honourable members, we continue to go out to engage with people with disabilities, women, and youth in rural and townships, doing exceptional work in technology innovation.
In this regard, we have supported about 700 grassroots innovators and regard them as contributors to the National System of Innovation.
Together with TIA, we have established 13 Living Labs, 9 Centres for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and mLabs in 4 provinces. These Labs and Centres provide a physical space and innovation infrastructure for innovators to ideate and progress their prototype solutions to market through the offering of structured innovation support, training, and a combination of technical and innovation skills training.
Chairperson, this budget vote demonstrates our shift from the old Department that paid more attention to the sciences and research. Whilst these areas remain important, as DSTI, we are making a strategic focus on innovation and technologies in strengthening the system of national innovation. We are making headway in this mandate; we will leave no one behind.
7. Conclusion.
Honourable members, I take this opportunity to thank Minister Nzimande, with whom our working relations are exemplary. I want to thank our Director-General and the senior management of the Department for their amazing support. I also thank the Portfolio Committee for its oversight role and leadership.
Thank you.
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