Department of Science and Technology & National Advisory Council on Innovation on Annual Performance Plans and Budget, with Minister in attendance

Meeting report

Chairperson’s opening remarks

The Chairperson welcomed the new Member of the Committee, Ms A Tuck (ANC), and acknowledged the presence of the Minister and Director General of the Department of Science and Technology. Unlike other Departments, the DST could not lament that it was in a developing country, as it had to compete with the world, bringing about innovations and transformation to the country and to the world at large. The DST had to transform the country from its difficult past through its research and development (R & D) and by developing policies that would bring about transformation. The world was dynamic, so transformation was necessary and R & D was key to innovation. New viruses and bacteria were evolving every day, so the DST had to be ahead of them. There should be a way to integrate other departments, like Basic Education and Trade and Industry, into the DST’s activities, even if it meant enacting new laws. There was a parallel relationship between the public and private sectors that should be bridged. Some innovations were considered as conventional, while others were regarded as unconventional, and he advised that such innovations should be embraced to see if they could be modified.

Remarks by the Minister of Science and Technology

The Minister said the DST’s presentation resulted from a rigorous planning process to ensure that the Department supported and coordinated the national system of innovation. The aim was to ensure that it was robust and responsive to the knowledge generation ambitions of South Africa and that it played an active role in realising the development goals of the country, as well as the African continent and the global community, given the international nature of science. The DST was making a strenuous effort to ensure that it was appropriately focused, strategic and fully responsive to the human capital development goals of South Africa, as well as to the strategic goal of a strong national system of innovation. The DST believed that financial resources were a constraint which the government should assist in addressing. The Department was fully cognisant of the difficulties confronting the economy at present, and believed that the government had provided support to the DST and its ambitious goals which would be elaborated on by the Director General in the presentation.

The DST was concerned about the level of resources that it received, and believed it enjoyed government support and that there were interventions of a strategic nature that would support the system and advance the achievement of the developmental imperatives of South Africa, as well as its partners in the continent and the global community. She hoped the Portfolio Committee would find the presentation and the DST’s ambitious goals and objectives exciting.

Briefing by Department of Science and Technology

Dr Phil Mjawara, Director General: DST, said the vision of the DST was to increase the well-being and prosperity of South Africans through science, technology and innovation. The mission was to provide leadership, an enabling environment and resources for science, technology and innovation in support of South Africa’s development. The National Development Plan (NDP) acknowledged that economic development was a long-term project and that innovation should grow in importance over time.

Three phases had been identified:

• From 2012 to 2017, the focus should be on intensifying research and development spending, and emphasizing opportunities linked to existing industries;

• From 2018 to 2023, the country should lay the foundations for more intensive improvements in productivity, where innovation across state, business and social sectors should start to become pervasive; and

• From 2023 to 2030, the emphasis should be on consolidating the gains of the second phase, with greater emphasis on innovation, improved productivity, a more intensive pursuit of a knowledge economy and better exploitation of comparative and competitive advantages on an integrated continent.

Science, technology and innovation (STI) were seen as the source of new and sustainable growth and competitiveness, and the engine for addressing social challenges, and holding the key to job creation and enhanced productivity. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) saw innovation as central to the lifting of economies out of the global economic crisis. Most countries had prioritised innovation in response to the 2008 global economic downturn. They had put forward stimulus packages for investment in infrastructure and extended support for research, development and innovation, human capital development, green technology and the fostering of entrepreneurship. The NDP’s vision for 2030 took a similar approach.

Dr Mjawara referred to the issue of knowledge generation in South Africa. The number of publications and students had increased as a result of research chairs, improved bursary values and centres of excellence (COEs). There was a productive and efficient research community, but they lacked the required critical mass for social and economic transformation. The way forward was to deepen and scale-up the implementation of successful programmes, mobilise resources for infrastructure, strengthen efforts to grow the next generation of researchers, implement revised strategies to build the pipelines for research and innovation, and make new arrangements for scaled-up research efforts.

Significant learning on R&D-led industrial development had been generated, and science and technology had created a social impact, although the work had not always been packaged effectively. The DST had to build and learn from its experiences on how to commercialize R&D ideas. It needed to introduce an emerging industries action plan, forge stronger partnerships with industry and other government departments, and provide targeted innovation support for key social impact outcomes.

The Department would continue to secure international and national STI funds in support of the National System of Innovation (NSI). It aimed to increase SA’s international exposure to knowledge and STI networks, to use science diplomacy to represent SA’s interests, to support STI capacity on the rest of the African continent, and to increase SA’s participation in international human capital development opportunities.

The DST’s five strategic outcome-oriented goals were:

1. To build on previous gains in building a responsive, coordinated and efficient NSI;

2. To maintain and increase the relative contribution of South African researchers to global scientific output;

3. To increase the number of high-level graduates and improve their representation;

4. To derive a greater share of economic growth from R&D-based opportunities and partnerships; and

5. To accelerate inclusive development through scientific knowledge, evidence and appropriate technology.

Dr Mjawara said SA was a net importer of technology. The gap between imports and exports had been increasing, pointing to an increasing demand for local technology. SA’s technology exports had been increasing, indicating a growing capacity in the knowledge sectors of the economy, providing the potential to boost SA exports and support local industry with locally grown technologies.

SA’s growing trade deficit in the manufacturing sector was a structural concern for the economy. The goal of the Technology Localisation Programme (TLP) was to improve the technological capacity of local firms leading to increased competitiveness, expanded capability and an expanded market.

There was a need to build, grow and strengthen a NSI that was efficient, productive and beginning to be responsive to national priorities. Public entities and universities had to be engaged to orient them on the DST’s approach to intended outcomes. There had to be enhanced efforts at transformation and the building of a strong academy, with institutional plans to accommodate and support young researchers. Other goals of the Department were to deepen implementation from lessons learnt in the past, to move pilots to semi pilots and full plants, to support the government in areas requiring technological solutions, to communicate more strategically, and toi develop and enhance planning, analytical and evaluation capability.

Discussion

The Chairperson commended the Department on the new information presented, which was a reflection that the DST was working and irrespective of the funding constraints, it was still forging ahead. References had been made to the DST in the last State of the Nation Address (SoNA), which indicated that the Presidential Office understood that it was a key department, so efforts should be made not to let the President down. The Committee would ensure that there was integration between the departments, as there seemed to be no coordination, especially when it came to financing projects that could benefit the country.

Dr A Lotriet(DA) congratulated the Department on its presentation and expressed excitement at its approach towards the needs of the country and how changes could be made. She looked forward to seeing how the DST would assist in resolving problems in the manufacturing sector. Aside from collaboration with the DTI, she asked if the DST was involved with the Department of Small Business Development. For instance, the ongoing project on mangoes in Limpopo could be a typical way of empowering people in the rural communities to set up their own small businesses.

The Minister thanked the Committee for the positive comments made about the DST. She agreed that the issue of the balance of payment should be targeted, as the DST was assiduously attending to the opportunities the challenges this presented, as it had the potential to make a significant contribution. The DST was working on the satellite development industry, as it was purchasing a lot of data from international sources rather than locally, and was trying to reduce the balance of payments in that area.

The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) had been an interesting arrival for the DST in the government department system. There was important synergy between the work of the DST and what the DSBD had to initiate. The DST had invited DSBD Minister Zulu and some officials to brief them on what the DST was doing in trying to encourage small business development. The Minister had been excited at what the DST was doing and at the possibility for collaboration. The two departments were working on a joint plan for ensuring that both exploited the strategic opportunities in a careful and well planned way.

Mr N Koornhof (ANC) commented that he had spoken to some bankers on the possibility of loaning money in order to grow more food in the Western Cape. He said people should be more positive, rather than negative, as there were a lot of positive things going in the country. He thanked the DST for its positive contribution. He said more funds were required in the Department, and with the positivity in the science area, the financial constraints could be overcome. He asked if there was ongoing integration between the DTI and the DST, as some of the DTI’s entities should be under the DST. He said smart phones could change the face of Africa -- about 300 million more smart phones would be added in the next ten years in Africa -- so he asked if efforts had been made by the DST to work on smart phones in South Africa.

The Minister commented that the DST was concerned about the communication of science, technology and innovation in South Africa. There was a need to renew science engagement strategies. The DST would be alerting the Committee soon on what it was trying to do, as communication was one of the areas in which improvement was needed. Universities and entities like the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) were doing a lot of work that needed to be put out there. The DST was working on the positive stories that the country should be told. It had been working with the DTI much more than in the past, but they had not done enough institutional assessments that should be referred to, like whether there was a duplication of instruments or a duplication of institutions. They had been recently informed that the DTI was withdrawing the Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme (THRIP) funds from the administration of the National Research Fund (NRF).She was not aware of the reason for the withdrawal, due to the lack of communication between both departments, but she hoped the funds would be managed as well as they had been by the NRF.

The Chairperson commented that the nation was not only negative, but was also angry. There was a need for change and positivity. Maybe more psychiatrists were needed than psychologists in South Africa.

Mr C Mathale (ANC) commended the Minister and the DG on the Department’s new mission and vision. He commended the approach that had been adopted by the DST, and added that the DST should be encouraged to intensify their programmes in terms of what had been identified. He wondered why the DST was not touching on mining-related issues, given the resources at the country’s disposal. The Department and government must put more resources together to assist this industry to grow more quickly. It was no surprise that agro processing and the wine industry were leading in South Africa, as wine farms had started many years ago and were older than the mining industry. He added that grapes were not used only for wine but for a variety of products, so the DST should try to increase its input to diversify. He agreed with the Minister that as a Committee, there was need to ensure that greater coordination was enforced, as science was the key to the economic growth of the country.

Mr Imraan Patel, DDG: DST, commented that in developing information communication technology (ICT), R&D and innovation roadmaps, one could draw the conclusion that mobile technologies were massive game changers, so they would be continuously prioritized. The DST was working with the Finnish Government and the World Bank to set up an M-lab based on innovation applications, and was producing an article around this to feature the eight SMMEs that had emerged out of it. For instance, the DST had introduced a technology used for scheduling of buses and transport information both in Western Cape and Gauteng, to young companies and individuals. Interest should not be focused only on building medium sized companies, but rather on how one could use smart phones as a tool to do other things. One of the M-lab projects was to look at an application on a mobile phone that allowed people to collect data on houses. The DST had a well established and detailed programme and some of its M-Lab works needed to be exposed. He encouraged the Committee to visit the M-lab on their oversight visit to Gauteng and meet with the entrepreneurs.

The DST had a big focus on targeting township developers. Some of DST team had been motivated by the Minister’s presentation around making a stand against xenophobia, so the team had come up with an online mobile application where people could register an online petition. South Africa was a strong country for mobile application developments, and there were many possibilities.

The Chairperson commented that competition often led to hatred and anger, and there should be compassion to help one another. He commended the Department on its good work and added that the Committee would continue to be a voice for the DST outside.

The Minister commented that the Limpopo mango project was no longer a pilot project but was now a functioning business, as it was moving. She added that a lot of traditional remedies were called indigenous knowledge, yet a lot of exciting work was being done in this field, such as new developments with Moringa tree products and other remedies that were not yet out in the global space. Lots of exciting development would be seen in the next few years.

The Chairperson thanked the Minister and the team from the Department for the presentation. He said the Committee had accepted their strategic plan and was looking forward to passing the budget, which they believed was not sufficient. The Committee was happy with the presentation and elated at what the Department was doing. He encouraged the DST to keep up the good work and to make sure whatever was going on in the Department was made known.

Briefing by National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI)

Dr Azar Jammine, Council Member: NACI apologized for the absence of the Council Chairperson, who was also the Vice Chancellor of the University of Pretoria, as she had to attend an important graduation ceremony. He congratulated the DST and was impressed by their approach to the balance of payments challenge. There was a massive shortfall of R200 billion between what South Africa paid to foreign sources in order to get products, and what it received from producing things itself. Retail sales in South Africa had increased by 70% and manufacturing production had increased by only 10%.The only way to sustain such consumption was to keep importing more and more, but one could run out of money doing so. He was encouraged that the DST had recognised its role in trying to block that gap by developing products and the capacity to enable the country to produce things itself and become less reliant on foreign products.

Dr Jammine said the NACI’s mandate was to advise the Minister for Science and Technology, the Minister’s Committee and Cabinet, on the role and contribution of science, mathematics, innovation and technology, including indigenous technologies, in promoting and achieving national objectives. The NACI had to display an understanding of government priorities and policies in relation to the NSI, and after consultation with the Minister for Science and Technology, advise on priorities and agenda setting for STI.

The NACI’s vision and mission embraced a well coordinated NSI in which science, technology and innovation were recognised as the primary drivers of economic and social development, and which enabled South Africa to participate in the global knowledge economy. It set the long term vision for overall economic and social development in South Africa and integrated economic, social, demographic, environmental and governance elements into a coherent framework. It outlined proposals to address the triple challenge of reducing poverty, unemployment and equality.

Its advisory support of the NDP covered:

- Outcome 4: Decent employment through inclusive growth;

- Outcome 5: A skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path

- Outcome 6: an efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network;

- Outcome 7: vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities contributing towards food security for all;

- Outcome 10: protect and enhance our environmental assets and natural resources.

 

The NACI’s strategic goals facilitating agenda-setting for prioritisation of STI in order to achieve coordination and stimulate NSI, advise on conducive framework conditions for STI in order to contribute to economic growth, monitor and evaluate the contribution of STI to South Africa’s economic growth and competitiveness, and establish NACI as the premier institution for proving rapid response STI advice.

Among its recent achievements, the NACI had recently delivered policy advice on gender mainstreaming in the STI environment, strengthening skills in mathematics, science and technology, up-scaling innovative solutions in support of SMME’s, infrastructure for research and innovation, assessment of the National Innovation System, policies and legislation affecting the implementation of the bioeconomy strategy, a “refocused NSI” and better alignment with the NDP.

Annual advisory outputs for 2015/16 included a framework for a decadal plan, a feedback report on the white paper review process, X3 rapid advice on pertinent issues, an innovation scorecard, a framework for an innovation portal, an STI indicators booklet and stakeholder consultation. The NACI’s medium term expenditure framework budget allocation was R18.7 m for 2015/16, R19 m for 2016/17 and R20 m for 2017/18.

Discussion

The Minister thanked NACI for the presentation and commented that NACI had been charged to do more. Its role had been strengthened, because the DST believed that NACI’s potential had been underutilized. She apologized for having to leave early as she had another meeting to attend.

The Chairperson thanked the Minister for availing herself despite her tight schedule and thanked the NACI for the presentation.

Mr Mathale thanked the NACI for the presentation and asked if, as an advisory body, it often experienced difficulties with advice implementation by the DST.

Dr Jammine replied that the NACI had felt some frustration in the past when it provided advice that was not implemented. For the NACI’s advice to become more effective, there was a need to circumvent the walls of the silos within departments, and to interact with other departments. An attempt had been made to expand the Council and appoint Councillors to broach some of the other areas of research. He hoped there would be an interaction between the research foundations and CSIR, with implementation beyond the ambit of DST.

Mr Lotriet asked if the NACI had initiated any advice to the Minister in terms of research into energy issues such as shale gas, problems with power generators and alternative energy models.

The Chairperson commented that there had been a debate on alcohol and tobacco, which could generate a lot of medical conditions.

Dr Jammine replied that the NACI had not been active in the area of shale gas research in the recent past.

Ms Nozipho Maome, Chief Specialist: NACI, DST, replied that energy was one of the priority areas that had been identified by the new Council. Energy, water, food security, entrepreneurship and job creation were the areas identified by the new Council for prioritisation.

Dr Jammine said that if advertisements for alcohol and tobacco were banned it could be counterproductive, as there was important revenue collection from alcohol and tobacco which one saw every year in terms of the increases in government taxes. It could become counterproductive to act forcefully against these interests, as it could cost jobs in a meaningful way if one was not careful.

The Chairperson thanked the team from NACI and said the Committee had accepted their strategic plan. The Committee would conduct oversight to ensure the NACI did what it promised to do.

The meeting was adjourned.