ATC141023: The Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology on the performance of the Department of Science and Technology for the 2013/14 financial year, dated 24 October 2014
Science and Technology
The Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of the Portfolio
Committee on Science and Technology on the performance of the Department of
Science and Technology for the 2013/14 financial year, dated 24 October 2014
The Portfolio
Committee on Science and Technology, having considered the performance of the
Department of Science and Technology for the 2013/14 financial year and its
submission to National Treasury for the 2015 Medium Term Expenditure Framework,
reports as follows:
1.
Introduction
1.1.
Mandate of the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology
The Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology (the
Committee)
is
mandated by the Constitution and the Rules of Parliament to oversee the
activities and performance of the
Department of
Science and Technology (the Department) and the entities that report to it. Hence,
the Committee must consider, amend and/or initiate legislation;
consider
international agreements and provide a platform for the public to participate
and present views on issues and/or legislation specific to the science,
technology and innovation system.
The entities
that reported to the Department during the 2013/14 financial year are the:
1.1.1.
National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI)
1.1.2.
National Research Foundation (NRF)
1.1.3.
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
1.1.4.
Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
1.1.5.
Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA)
1.1.6.
Technology Innovation Agency (TIA)
1.1.7.
South African National Space Agency (SANSA)
1.1.8.
Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)
To enhance Parliaments oversight role, the Money
Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act (Act 9 of 2009) was
promulgated to provide Parliament with a procedure to make recommendations to
the Minister of Finance to amend the budget of a national department. A key
provision of this Act is that Portfolio Committees must annually compile
Budgetary Review and Recommendation (BRR) Reports. These BRR Reports provide an
assessment of service delivery performance given available resources; evaluates
the effective and efficient use and forward allocation of resources; and may
make recommendations on the forward use of resources. The BRR Reports are also
source documents for the Committees on Appropriations when they make
recommendations to the Houses of Parliament on the Medium-Term Budget Policy
Statement (MTBPS).
1.2.
Method to develop the 2014 Budget Review and Recommendation Report of
the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology
In preparation for
the BRR Report, the Committee assessed the performance of the Department and
the entities by:
·
Deliberating and
considering the prevailing Strategic Plans and the 2013/14 and 2014/15 budget
allocations and Annual Performance Plans;
·
Evaluating the
2013/14 quarterly performance and expenditure trends, as well as the first
quarter performance and expenditure for the 2014/15 financial year;
·
Conducting oversight
by having briefings on specific initiatives and programmes, which included site
visits;
·
Inviting the
Auditor-General (AG) to explain the 2013/14 audit outcomes for the Department
and the entities; and
·
Deliberating and
considering the 2013/14 Annual Reports of the Department and the entities.
1.3.
Mandate of the Department of Science and Technology
The Department is
responsible for developing, co-ordinating and managing the National System of
Innovation (NSI) to transform the economy and provide a better life for all
South Africans. In fulfilment of this responsibility, the Department, with its
entities, seeks to create an environment that promotes innovation; enhance
South Africas knowledge-generation capacity; develop appropriate human capital
in science, technology and innovation (STI); build and maintain excellent STI
infrastructure; and position South Africa as a favourable location to conduct
scientific research and development.
2.
OVERVIEW OF THE KEY RELEVANT POLICY FOCUS
AREAS
Science, technology and innovation are considered crucial for the
creation of wealth and improving the quality of life in modern society. Hence, governments,
as they strive for equitable and sustainable development, have a duty to create
an enabling policy environment to support these goals. In South Africa, the
1996 White Paper on Science and Technology introduced the concept of a NSI as
an enabling framework for the development and application of science and
technology in South Africa. Within this framework, Government (with the line
department being the Department of Science and Technology) has the sole
responsibility for, at the national level, policy formulation and resource
allocation; and for regulatory policy-making.
The
National Research and Development Strategy (NRDS) and the Ten Year Innovation
Plan (TYIP) are the key drivers of the NSI. The TYIP, particularly, was put in
place to guide the country towards a knowledge-based economy through human
capital development, knowledge generation and exploitation, knowledge
infrastructure and enablers to convert knowledge into socio-economic outcomes.
The grand challenges outlined in the TYIP comprise the biotechnology and
pharmaceutical industry (now referred to as the Bio-economy), space science,
energy security and global change. The idea is to have a multidisciplinary
thinking amongst South African researchers to deal with these challenges in an
innovative way that would bring socio-economic changes in this country as it is
envisaged in both the National Development Plan (NDP) and the New Growth Path
(NGP).
The
NDP identifies the need to increase the size, coherence and effectiveness of
the NSI to enhance South Africas ability to compete globally. Hence, the
country must enhance its investment in infrastructure, improve the skills base
and ensure that it better exploits the knowledge generated from its investments
in research and development. The NGP requires infrastructure to support it, and
the Department plays a supporting role in various strategic integrated projects
(SIPs) that form part of the National Infrastructure Plan. The Department is involved
in three of the 18 SIPs; namely, SIP 14 (Higher Education and Infrastructure), SIP
15 (Expanding access to communication technology) and SIP 16 (Square Kilometre
Array [SKA] and MeerKAT). In addition, due to the crosscutting nature of
science and technology, the work undertaken by the Department contributes to Outcome
2 (a long and healthy life for all South Africans), Outcome 4 (decent
employment through inclusive economic 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 and food security for
all) and Outcome 10 (environmental assets and natural resources that are well
protected and continually enhanced).
2.1
Additional policy
developments
In addition to the key STI
policies outlined above, the Department continues to implement a suite of
strategies that seek to enhance the countrys ability to exploit knowledge to
secure socio-economic benefit. In the 2013/14 financial year, the following
were developed:
·
Bio-economy
Strategy provides guidelines on how to use South Africas biological
resources and abilities in the biosciences to develop commercial products in
the fields of health, agriculture and industry;
·
Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) Research, Development and Innovation (RDI)
Implementation Roadmap 10-year implementation plan for the ICT RDI Strategy.
It aims to enable increased public and private investment in ICT RDI; and
·
Science Engagement
Framework overarching framework for advancing science promotion and
engagement in South Africa and will guide the development of science promotion
and engagement initiatives by the Department and its entities.
2.2
Key measurable
objectives
The Departments 2011-2016
Strategic Plan identifies human capital development, global and Africa
collaboration, knowledge generation (Research and Development), knowledge
exploitation (innovation) and infrastructure development as priority focus
areas. The Departments objectives as outlined in its 2013/14 Annual
Performance Plan flows directly from the five-year Strategic Plan. The
Strategic Plan indicates that the Department is championing advanced and
smaller, traditional sectors of the economy; particularly sectors with a high
potential for creating and retaining jobs. As such, the 2013/14 Annual
Performance Plan identifies the following as areas that require interventions:
·
Achieve critical
mass in a small number of long-term, large-scale and high-impact priority areas
that have been identified over the past few years;
·
Ensure that
high-level human capital is developed and employed in long-term productive
research in South Africa;
·
Introduce and
strengthen efforts that enhance South Africas ability to exploit knowledge effectively
for economic and social benefit;
·
Improve the
ability of government investment to leverage private sector and international
funding;
·
Build the
knowledge-generation and knowledge-exploitation capabilities in rural and
historically disadvantaged higher education institutions;
·
Provide and
maintain state of the art STI infrastructure;
·
Create a
coordinated and integrated NSI governance and robust monitoring and evaluation;
·
Develop and
strengthen regional and provincial innovation systems and capabilities to meet
community and industry demands;
·
Use the cluster
system to facilitate alignment of the Departments programmes to the NGP, the
Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) and the NDP;
·
Resource the
system by achieving and going beyond the 1% General Expenditure on Research and
Development (GERD) as a % of GDP; and
·
Strengthen
government-industry-higher education partnerships.
3.
Summary of previous key financial and
performance recommendations of Committee
The previous
Committees 2013 BRR Report contained the following recommendations:
·
The Department and entities ensure that they
obtain unqualified audits with no material findings.
·
The Department should ensure that performance
targets are formulated according to the standards defined by National Treasury and
that the necessary communication between the Department and its entities occurs
to ensure that targets are aligned.
·
The Departments commitment to the 5 per cent
vacancy rate should have a timeline attached.
·
The Department should finalise the Southern Oceans
and Antarctica Framework as a matter of urgency. The Committee expects the
Department to provide it with a brief on the completed strategy.
·
The Department should strengthen its
relationship with other government departments where there are cross cutting or
overlapping mandates to ensure effective implementation of intergovernmental
programmes and policies. These relationships are crucial to the success of the
NSI.
·
The Department is granted the additional
funds it requests, to ensure that continued progress is made against its
objectives.
As per the provisions of the Money Bills
Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act, the Committees 2013 BRR Report
was forwarded to the Ministers of Finance and Science and Technology.
4.
Overview and assessment of financial
performance
4.1.
Overview of Vote allocation and spending (2010/11 to 2015/16)
Table 1:
Overview
of the Departments Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) allocation.
Vote 34: Science and Technology
|
||||||
Programme
R000
|
2010/11
|
2011/12
|
2012/13
|
2013/14
|
2014/15
|
2015/16
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Allocated
|
MTEF Estimate
|
|
Administration
|
188.9
|
195.6
|
226.4
|
258.9
|
291.0
|
309.2
|
Research, Development
and Innovation
|
802.8
|
854.9
|
1 160.4
|
1 671.0
|
991.6
|
1 018.5
|
International
Co-operation and Resources
|
131.4
|
132.3
|
137.2
|
141.4
|
119.7
|
125.2
|
Human Capital and
Knowledge Systems
|
1 754.1
|
1 956.3
|
2 057.0
|
2 473.2
|
3 503.8
|
4 300.1
|
Socio-Economic
Partnerships
|
1 174.7
|
1 264.4
|
1 418.6
|
1 653.6
|
1 564.1
|
1 801.3
|
Total
|
4 051.9
|
4 403.5
|
4 999.6
|
6 198.2
|
6 470.2
|
7 554.3
|
The Department
focussed its spending on developing STI human capital; the generation and
exploration of knowledge; investing in research and development infrastructure;
and strengthening regional, continental and international co-operation in STI.
Hence, the bulk of the Departments budget was spent on transfers and subsidies.
As illustrated in table 1 above, the
Department was allocated R6.19 billion for the 2013/14 financial year.
According to economic classification, the Department would spend 7.3% (R454.1
million) on Current payments (Compensation of employees and Goods and
services), 92.6% (R5.74 billion) on Transfers and subsidies and 0.04% (R2.2
million) on Payments for capital assets. The allocation for Transfers and
subsidies further comprised R4.17 billion for the Departments agencies and
science councils, R1.03 billion for Public corporations and private enterprises
and R532.8 million for Non-profit institutions. In line with the objectives of
the Department, most of the budget was allocated to the Programmes that
implement core policies, namely, Programmes 2, 4 and 5.
The Department, through its programmes,
transferred the following amounts to the entities that report to it (see Table
2 below).
Table 2:
Transfers to
Departmental agencies.
Name of Entity
|
2013-14
Actual
R000
|
2012-13
Actual
R000
|
Africa Institute of South Africa
|
35
237
|
33
643
|
Human Sciences Research Council
|
250 078
|
217 569
|
National Research Foundation
|
2 667
824
|
1 983
122
|
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
|
781 996
|
742 752
|
Technology Innovation Agency
|
523
081
|
467
288
|
South African National Space Agency
|
172 708
|
144 120
|
Academy of Science of South Africa
|
20
744
|
13
584
|
The Department spent R6.16 billion (99.5 per cent) of its allocated
budget by the end of the financial year. There was overspending with respect to
public corporations and private enterprises of more than 60 per cent of what
was allocated after adjustments. The final appropriation for this item was R1.0
billion, but at the end of the financial year over R1.69 billion was spent. The
Department spent R27.9 million (0.4 per cent of the total spent budget) on
consultants, contractors and agency/outsourced services. The Department spent
R4.5 million on external audits but these did not detect the issues identified
in supply chain management by the Auditor-General.
Irregular expenditure, which includes amounts from the previous year
amounted to R32.8 million (R569 000 and R15.3 million for 2012/13 and R16.9
million for 2013/14). Two transactions accounted for 81 per cent of the total
irregular expenditure of R16.9 million for 2013/14, which were for the
procurement of travel services (R6.8 million) and the procurement of goods and
services without obtaining valid tax clearance certificates (R7 million). These
two transactions and others are being investigated.
The Departments spending against its budget allocation was consistently
above 90 per cent from 2009/10 to 2013/14.
4.2.
Auditor Generals Report
The Auditor-General
gave the Department an unqualified audit opinion. The audit outcomes of the Department
and its entities have generally remained unchanged. The NRF, CSIR, TIA, SANSA,
ASSAf and HSRC received unqualified opinions with no findings on predetermined
objectives and compliance. The Department and AISA received unqualified
opinions with findings on compliance but they managed to resolve their prior
year findings on predetermined objectives. The main findings that need to be
addressed are:
·
The Department and
AISA recorded instances of non-compliance as material adjustments were made to
the annual financial statements submitted on 31 May 2014.
·
A number of
non-compliance findings in respect to supply chain management were identified
at the Department.
·
The Department failed
to comply with prescripts relating to compensation of employees as the
verification process had not been followed for new appointments.
The overall audit
outcomes of these entities have improved when compared to the previous year.
To address the
findings of the Auditor-General, the Department has agreed to the following
commitments:
·
Monthly
monitoring of the dashboard by management and updating the minister on a
quarterly basis on the improvement and actions taken to improve on the controls
thereof.
·
A checklist to be implemented on the
requirements of the supply chain management process, which must be completed
with regards to all tenders, quotes and deviations. Internal audit to audit the
process to ensure compliance.
4.3.
2015/16 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework financial allocations
Cognisant of the current fiscal strain, the Department submitted its 2015/16
MTEF bid within the following context:
·
The NSI cannot absorb
any further cuts in funding without dire consequences;
·
The efficient and
effective allocation of resources is critical;
·
The Department could
not identify areas where funding could be reprioritised;
·
The Bid submission
continues to focus on infrastructure projects; sectoral bids that can stimulate
economic growth and support for sister departments; and
·
The Bid submission
targets interventions that seek to support and grow technological innovation.
Hence, the funding requests are focussed on the outer years of the
current MTEF. Over the MTEF, these include:
·
R1.5 billion for the
Bio-economy Strategy,
·
R230 million for the ICT
Research, Development and Innovation Roadmap;
·
R209.1 million for NIPMO;
·
R477.5 million for
TIA; and
·
Research
infrastructure and buildings:
o
R15 million infrastructure
for the ICT RDI Roadmap;
o
R168.6 million for general-purpose
research infrastructure for entities, for example, laboratories at the CSIR and
SANSA, and a data management centre and survey equipment for the HSRC;
o
Buildings R54.4
million for the completion of the Departments building, R8 million for a
building for ASSAf, and R67.6 million for critical upgrades to the HSRC
Building.
However, National Treasury has informed the Department that it intends
to reduce it baseline allocation as follows (see Table 3 below):
Table 3:
Possible reductions to the Departments baseline allocations.
Item
R000
|
2014/15
Budget
|
2015/16 Cut
|
2016/17 Cut
|
Compensation
|
283 818
|
11 238
|
3 321
|
Goods and Services
|
202 905
|
9 000
|
12 368
|
Transfers NRF, SKA,
R&D infrastructure and local manufacturing capacity
|
5 981 158
|
36 656
|
36 835
|
5.
Overview of service delivery performance
5.1.
Service delivery performance for 2013/14
Overall, the Department achieved 44 of its 57
targets (77 per cent), which is an improvement of 6 per cent from the previous
financial year (achieved 47 of its 66 targets - 71 per cent). Nine targets (16
per cent) were partly achieved and four targets (7 per cent) were not achieved.
Key achievements for the Department include:
·
Supporting 9 771 honours, masters and
doctoral students through the NRF, which is 1 392 more students than last year
(2012/13);
·
Placing 840 interns in funded work
preparation programmes in science, engineering and technology institutions, 711
were placed in the previous year;
·
Supporting 3 569 researchers with research
grants, which is 493 more researchers than in 2012/13;
·
Awarding 61 infrastructural grants to the
research community, 53 were awarded in 2012/13;
·
Creating five new Centres of Excellence
(CoEs);
·
Announcing four new research chairs, bringing
the total number of research chairs to 137;
·
Hosting the first Science, Technology and
Innovation Summit in order to discuss a focused, aligned and competitive system
of R&D in the country; and
·
Offices of Technology Transfer (OTTs) have
currently been established in about 30 publicly financed R&D institutions
and over 250 disclosures were made in 2013/14.
Programme 1: Administration
The purpose of Programme 1 is to conduct the overall management and
administration of the Department, to ensure that organisations funded by the
Department comply with good governance standards and to ensure that their
activities are aligned with the strategic focus of the NSI. For the first time
in 2013/14, this Programme had set targets. The Department achieved all its 11
targets. Notable achievements include:
·
Launching a
Performance Information Management System (PIMS);
·
Maintaining the vacancy
rate at 6 per cent; and
·
Finalising the fraud
risk profile and putting in place an annual fraud prevention and detection
plan.
Programme 2: Research,
Development and Innovation
The
purpose of Programme 2 is to facilitate knowledge generation and exploitation
through R&D in key priority areas, namely space science, biotechnology,
health and energy. The Programme also facilitates the development of innovative
products and services, and their commercialisation where appropriate. Of the 13
set targets, five were achieved, five were partly achieved, and three were not
achieved. The National Treasury views partly achieved targets as not achieved.
Therefore, only 38 per cent of the targets were achieved and 62 per cent were
not achieved.
Notable achievements include:
·
Clinical trials for the new, locally
developed malaria drug candidate started;
·
A South Africa-led publication of the
Eucalyptus genome in the prestigious science journal
Nature;
·
Four MeerKAT radio satellite dishes were
meant to be designed and installed by 31 March 2014. However, all four were
designed, but only one was installed. It is stated in the Annual Report that
the other three will be installed by June 2014;
·
Fifty-eight products were developed through
funding support from TIA for commercialisation and three were commercialised;
·
TIA supported 37 new technology-based
products in 2013/14;
·
The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
(NMMU) has developed Coalgae, a potential competitor for coal;
·
Photovoltaic Technology Intellectual Property
(PTiP) together with Singulus Technologies AG (a German engineering firm)
established a demonstration plant at Technopark in Stellenbosch for the
production and marketing of a thin-film solar module that provides an effective
way to convert solar energy into electricity;
·
The National Intellectual Property Management
Office (NIPMO) is now a special service delivery unit (SSDU) within the
Department; and
·
NIPMO supported about 10 Offices of
Technology Transfer (OTTs) in 2013/14 alone.
The TIA and
SANSA are funded from Programme 2. The TIA is mandated to stimulate and
intensify technological innovation and achieved 24 of its 29 (83 per cent) targets.
The SANSA is mandated to promote and foster research in space science and
engineering and achieved 28 of its 33 (85 per cent) targets.
Programme 3: International
Co-operation and Resources
Programme 3
is responsible for positioning the Department and South Africa as a strategic
international partner with respect to STI cooperation, both bilateral and
multilateral contexts, and increasingly with respect to multinational
corporations. The Programme guides the Departments international activities in
order to support national imperatives such as the Medium Term Strategic
Framework. This Programme reported accurately in line with the Annual
Performance Plan, and met all four of its targets.
Notable achievements include:
·
The first meeting of BRICS (Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa) STI Ministers was held in South Africa in February
2014 to discuss multilateral cooperation;
·
Bilateral relations with the United Kingdom
(UK) and the United States of America (USA) were boosted;
·
New partnerships with Finland, Sweden and
Norway were established around the issues of innovation;
·
Co-operation initiatives with Switzerland,
Argentina, Jamaica and the Republic of Korea offered new opportunities for
South African scientists;
·
The Department strengthened ties around the
Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project with African counterparts, including
Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Mauritius and Madagascar;
·
The Department invested in regional science
programmes within the Southern African Development Community (SADC); and
·
The Department leveraged R250 million in
direct foreign investment.
The AISA
achieved 34 of its 47 (72 per cent) targets. From 2014/15, AISA is a research
unit within the HSRC. Hence, the 2013/14 Annual Report is its final Annual
Report as an individual statutory body.
Programme 4: Human
Capital and Knowledge Systems
Programme
4 provides leadership in ensuring that South Africas research base is
maintained, strengthened and grown in order that it may contribute to the
modernisation and development of a knowledge-based economy. Of the 15 set
targets, 12 were achieved, two were partly achieved and one was not achieved. Therefore,
80 per cent of targets were achieved.
Notable achievements
include:
·
Fifty-four research chairs were awarded,
bringing the total 137;
·
Five new Centres of Excellence were established;
·
A science promotion and engagement mandate
has been incorporated within the South African Agency for Science and
Technology Advancement (SAASTA) directorate of the NRF;
·
The South African Research Infrastructure
Roadmap Report was approved and 17 pieces of research infrastructure were
identified;
·
The National Recordal System (NRS) and the
Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) Bioprospecting and product development
consortium were launched;
·
The Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) at
Pretoria filed a patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
for a local plant extract with anti-TB bioactivity;
·
The University of Kwazulu-Natal (UKZN)
approved an IKS policy for the university; and
·
An NRF/DST IKS Centre was established between
UKZN, the University of the North West, the University of Venda, the University
of Limpopo and the University of South Africa.
The NRF is
mandated to support and promote research through funding, human capital
development and the provision of research facilities. It showed good progress
against performance targets for its funding activities and towards the
achievements of its Vision 2015 goals.
The ASSAf has
a dual mandate in that it is a honourific entity and through the expertise of
its members, provides evidence-based science advice in support of policy
development and decision-making on issues of national significance. The ASSAf
selected 32 new members in the year under review and now have 423 members (of
these, 24 per cent are women and 27 per cent are black). Within each of its
programmes, ASSAf reported on a range of activities that it successfully
undertook to further its mandate. From 2014/15, ASSAf will report on specific
performance targets.
Programme 5: Socio-Economic
Partnerships
Programme 5
enhances the growth and development priorities of government through targeted
science and technology interventions and the development of strategic
partnerships with other government departments, industry, research institutions
and communities. Of the 14 set targets, 12 were achieved and two were partly
achieved. Therefore, it achieved 77 per cent of its targets. Notable achievements
include:
·
Establishing an Industry Innovation
Partnership (IPP) programme,
·
Establishing a Sector Innovation Fund (SIF) programme,
·
Supporting Regional Innovation forums in the
Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng and Kwazulu-Natal;
·
Conducting a Waste Sector Survey for South
Africa;
·
Launching the Fluorination Pilot Plant;
·
Launching the Semi-continuous pilot plant for
the production of titanium powder;
·
Providing 84 Technology Assistance Packages
qualifying local manufacturing companies;
·
Supporting 1 904 Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs) through the Technology Stations Programme; and
·
Approving a new Rock Innovation Programme for
mining and geosciences R&D.
The HSRC conducts
research that serves the public, contributes towards good governance and public
service delivery and helps address challenges of poverty and inequality. It achieved
26 of its 36 (72 per cent) targets.
The CSIR contributes to the improvement of the quality of life of all
South Africans by engaging in multi-disciplinary research and technological
innovation. It achieved 12 of its 16 (75 percent) targets.
6.
Finance and Service delivery performance
assessment
The Department is not
a service delivery department, per
se,
and setting targets that appropriately reflect the nature of scientific
endeavour is not always easy.
The Department has
consistently demonstrated that it can spend, to a great degree, its budget
allocation according to spending targets. However, even though the Department
has proven that, it can spend its budget; this is not quite matched in
achievement of its performance targets. The three priority domains of the
Department are research and development, human capital development, and
infrastructure. In all these domains the Department and its entities has shown
steady progress, as reflected in table 4 below.
Table 4:
Expenditure versus performance targets achieved.
Vote 34: Department of Science and Technology
|
||||||||
Programme
|
2013/14
|
2012/13
|
||||||
Budgeted
R000
|
Actual
R000
|
% (Over)/Under
Spending
|
% Targets
Achieved
|
Budgeted
R000
|
Actual
R000
|
% (Over)/Under
Spending
|
% Targets
Achieved
|
|
Administration
|
258 926
|
257 471
|
0.56%
|
100
|
226 372
|
225 270
|
0.49%
|
|
Research, Development and Innovation
|
1 671
041
|
1 669
678
|
0.08%
|
38
|
1 160
383
|
1 156 845
|
0.30%
|
80
|
International Cooperation and Resources
|
141 430
|
139 783
|
1.16%
|
100
|
137 240
|
136 518
|
0.53%
|
100
|
Human Capital and Knowledge systems
|
2 473
172
|
2 462
720
|
0.42%
|
80
|
2 057
033
|
2 038 955
|
0.88%
|
59
|
Socio-Economic Partnerships
|
1 653
586
|
1 639
837
|
0.83%
|
86
|
1 418 582
|
1 415 727
|
0.20%
|
80
|
TOTAL
|
6 198
155
|
6 169
489
|
0.46%
|
77%
|
4 999
610
|
4 973
315
|
0.53%
|
71%
|
However, given its
resources, the rate of progress within these priority domains may not be at the
desired level. Furthermore, the biggest threat to the objectives of the
Department is the poor mathematics and science performance by South African
scholars and the low throughput rate to postgraduate study. In response to the
latter, the NRF has commissioned an investigation into why fewer black students
continue through to postgraduate level. The results of which will hopefully
inform future policy geared to transforming the science and technology sector
of South Africa.
The recent Management
Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT) report of the Department of Performance
Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency identified the Department as being the
second best managed national department.
The Committee is satisfied,
therefore, with the performance of the Department and is of the view that
greater impact can be achieved with the allocation of additional resources,
particularly for human capital development, research and development to
increase the knowledge generation capacity of the system and for the provision
and maintenance of research infrastructure.
7.
COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS RESULTING FROM ENGAGEMENTS WITH
THE DEPARTMENT AND ENTITIES
·
The Committee
expressed their general satisfaction with the entities operations, plans and
achievements. They acknowledged that the Department and its entities have an
important role to play in facilitating the development of cutting-edge science
and technology capabilities in the country.
·
The Committee noted
some of the challenges highlighted by the Auditor-General, which included the
failure to comply with the supply chain management policy and deviating from the
human resources policy with regard to the appointment of new staff. The
Committee further noted that there had been a regression since the Departments
audit report of the previous year on some of the same matters. The Committee encourages
the Department to address and correct these challenges.
·
Parliamentary grants were inadequate to
fulfil the total funding requirements of the Department and its entities. The
Department and each of the entities have a unique role to play in giving
impetus to and delivering on governments national priorities, especially to
provide the technological solutions needed to advance economic development and enhance
the lives of all South Africans. The Committee would; therefore, welcome and
support any additional funding allocation from the National Treasury.
·
Specific initiatives, such as NIPMO, is
notably underfunded and the budget allocation for this office will have to be
increased.
·
The Committee noted the importance of the SKA
and MeerKAT projects. It was further noted that the deadlines for erecting some
of the dishes were not met. The Committee undertakes to monitor the achievement
of the performance targets set for this project to ensure its national and
international success.
·
The Committee noted the challenges regarding
the R&D Tax Incentive Initiative and that it may not have had the desired
effect in stimulating private sector investment in R&D. The Committee
encourages the strengthening of relations between government and the private
sector. The Committee also advises that the Department and the South African Revenue
Service (SARS) work together to improve how the incentive is communicated and
administered.
·
The Committee noted that currently there is
less than one percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) spent on R&D. For the
country to reach its economic goals, reaching the target of 1.5 percent of GDP
spent on R&D will have to be accelerated. It is therefore important to increase
steadily the funding allocation of the Department and its entities in an
attempt to meet the objective of the 1.5 per cent target in the medium term.
·
The Committee found that the baseline funding
allocations to the Department and its entities marginally increased, which makes
entities reliant on contract funding. The Committee cautioned that such a
dependency might compromise governments agenda for science and technology and its
contribution to deliver on national priorities. This below inflation funding
increases restricts entities to deliver merely on their mandates, often at the
expense of building and infrastructure investment.
·
The Committee appreciates that TIA is central
to the development of science and technology enterprises and that it is
intended to bridge the innovation chasm. It therefore acknowledges and commends
TIA on addressing and rectifying the challenges it has faced in the past. The Committee
will focus its efforts on monitoring TIAs work very closely and to engage when
necessary, in order for TIA to meet its targeted objectives.
·
The Committee viewed intergovernmental
collaborative partnerships as instrumental in ensuring the work done by the
Department and its entities were used and implemented. Enhanced co-ordination
is necessary at Executive as well as Parliamentary level amongst the various
portfolio and select committees in instances where science and technology
issues are transversal.
·
Projects such as Operation Phakisa, the ocean
economy plan, and the Project Management Office for the African Union
Presidential Infrastructure Championing Initiative have immense potential for
the development of science and scientists. This could mean the expansion of
certain scientific areas, which will need additional funding.
7.1.
Further observations
·
The Committee noted the recommendations of
the Ministerial Committee to Review the STI Landscape to elevate the importance
of science and technology. Hence, the Committee will request the Department to
provide a report on which recommendations are being considered and implemented
by the Department, with special reference to recommendations 1, 2 and 3.
·
The Committee views science, technology and
innovation as an integral part of the transformation agenda of South Africa.
The investment in science, technology and innovation prior to our democracy was
skewed towards favouring the minority and was not geared towards broader
societal and social transformation and upliftment.
·
The Committee recognizes that South Africa will
likely remain mired in poverty unless we drastically change the reach of
science, technology and innovation and do what other developing and developed
countries have done to achieve sustainable growth: that is, to incorporate
science, technology and innovation into their economic strategies. This
sentiment is also highlighted in governments National Development Plan.
·
To sharpen its innovative edge and to
contribute in a meaningful way to global scientific and technological
advancement, greater investment in research and development cannot be over-emphasized.
·
Notably, we will have to increase our
investment in existing science infrastructure, our allocation to science
councils and entities that facilitate innovation and forge better cooperation
between public science and technology institutions and the private sector.
·
Not only is cooperation with the private
sector important, government will have to find better ways of cooperation
amongst various government departments with similar cross-cutting or
overlapping mandates to ensure effective implementation of intergovernmental
programmes and policies. These relationships are crucial to the success of the
NSI. The Committee encourages the Departments collaboration with the
departments of basic and higher education. Resources needs to be targeted
towards building the research infrastructure required by a modern economy. The Committee
views the initiative to produce 100 PhDs per million persons by 2030 as a
collaborative effort.
·
Efforts should significantly increase to
promote the science sector, the Department and its entities as well as
showcasing its brilliance and contribution to societal transformation Research
capacity and innovations are mostly centred at universities and science
institutions. Outputs emanating from local, world-class science and technology endeavour
are not celebrated sufficiently. We have to explore better ways of improving
science and technology education and communication to share and promote our
science with all citizens of our country.
·
It is further important to improve the
general populations science literacy, so that people are able to differentiate
between scientific knowledge and other belief systems. It is further necessary
for science advancement initiatives to extend well into the rural areas.
·
It has become increasingly important as a
country with limited resources and simultaneously operating in a globally
competitive environment, to find ways and means of working together when
innovating new products and services.
8.
CONCLUSION
·
The Committee, having assessed the work of
the Department through the annual report as well as its expenditure patterns
through the year, commended it for attaining an unqualified audit opinion in
the 2013/14 financial year, achieving 77 per cent of its performance targets and
for spending 99.5 per cent of its budget.
·
The Committee commended the Department for
developing and implementing programmes to enhance the countrys science and
innovation system.
·
The annual report briefings by the Department
and its entities indicated that there was concerted effort and progress towards
delivering in key priority areas for social and economic development.
·
The Committee has and will continue to,
through the processes available to it, ensure that the Department remains
accountable and fully implements its mandate as informed by broader government
policy.
9.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Portfolio Committee on Science and
Technology recommends the following:
·
That the Department and its entities make
concerted efforts to correct the shortcomings as highlighted by the
Auditor-General contained in its annual reports.
·
For the Department to continue playing a meaningful
role in contributing to equitable economic growth and development and that the
proposed budget cuts by the National Treasury should be reviewed with the
possibility of it not being effected.
·
That the overall allocation for science and technology
should be increased.
·
That the Minister of Science and Technology facilitates
discussions to encourage government to prioritise its commitment towards
allocating 1.5 per cent of GDP to investment in R&D.
Report to be considered.
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