ATC140716: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology on Budget Vote 34 and the Annual Performance Plan of the Department of Science and Technology for the 2014/15 Fiscal Year, dated 10 July 2014:
Science and Technology
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Science
and Technology on Budget Vote 34 and the Annual Performance Plan of the
Department of Science and Technology for the 2014/15 Fiscal Year, dated 10 July
2014:
The Portfolio Committee on Science and
Technology, having considered and concluded its deliberations on the 2014/15 Annual
Performance Plan and Budget Allocation of the Department of Science and
Technology
,reports
as follows:
1.
Introduction
The Portfolio Committee on Science and
Technology (the Committee) received two briefings (2 and 9 July 2014) by the Department
of Science and Technology (the Department
)on
the 2014/15
Annual Performance Plan (APP) and budget allocation.
During the first briefing, the
Director-General, Dr P.
Mjwara
, provided an overview
of the strategic context within which the Department functions, detailing its policy
mandate and key priorities. Furthermore, the Department highlighted a selection
of performance indicators and their concomitant targets to reflect what it aims
to achieve with each of its programmes. The presentation also listed the budget
allocations for each of the programmes and entities over the medium term
expenditure framework (MTEF).
During the second briefing, the Department provided
the Committee with more detail as to its 2014/15 performance targets and budget
allocation.
2.
Strategic
Overview
The Department aims to realise the full
potential of science and technology (S&T) in social and economic advancement
through the development of human resources, research and innovation. The
Department executes this mandate by implementing the 1996 White Paper on
Science and Technology, the 2002 National Research and Development Strategy
(NRDS) and the Ten Year Innovation Plan (TYIP). The White Paper introduced the
concept of a National System of Innovation (NSI) as an enabling framework for
the development and application of S&T 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 NRDS and the 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; comprising the bio-economy, space science, energy security and global
change; aim to foster multidisciplinary thinking amongst South African
researchers to address national challenges in an innovative way that would ensure
socio-economic benefit as is envisaged in both the National Development Plan
(NDP) and the National Growth Path (NGP).
The NDP identifies S&T as a key driver of
economic change. 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
). The Department
also contributes to Outcome 2 a long and healthy life for all South Africans,
Outcome 4 decent employment through inclusive economic growth and Outcome 5
a skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path of Governments
12 Key Outcomes.
3.
Budget
Allocation Vote 34: Science and Technology
The overall budget allocation of the
Department increased from R6.2 billion in 2013/14 to R6.47 billion in 2014/15. Over
the medium term, the budget allocation will increase to R7.5 billion in 2015/16
and R7.6 billion in 2016/17(Table 1) and spending will focus on developing
science, technology and innovation (STI) human capital; the generation and
exploitation of knowledge; investing in research and development
infrastructure; strengthening regional, continental and international
co-operation in STI; and encouraging South African innovation by funding
marketable products emerging from research and incubation. Hence, 92 per cent
(R5.98 billion) of the Departments budget will be spent on Transfers and
subsidies.The
allocation for Transfers and subsidies
further comprises R4.3 billion for the Departments agencies and science
councils, R1.2 billion for Public corporations and private enterprises, R438
million for Non-profit institutions and R15 million for Higher education
institutions.
Table 1:
Medium term budget allocation of the Department of Science and Technology
Programme
R
million
|
2013/14
|
2014/15
|
2015/16
|
2016/17
|
Rand
change
2013/14
2014/15
|
Administration
|
245.7
|
291.0
|
309.2
|
311.2
|
45.3
|
Technology
Innovation
|
1 122.1
|
991.6
|
1 018.5
|
1 023.1
|
-130.5
|
International
Cooperation and Resources
|
110.2
|
119.7
|
125.2
|
126.2
|
9.5
|
Research,
Development and Support
|
3 233.8
|
3 503.8
|
4 300.1
|
4 323.7
|
270.0
|
Socio-Economic
Innovation Partnerships
|
1 486.4
|
1 564.1
|
1 801.3
|
1 850.6
|
77.7
|
Total
expenditure estimates
|
6 198.2
|
6 470.2
|
7 554.3
|
7 634.8
|
272.0
|
4.
Overview of
the Purpose, Spending Focus and Selected Performance Targets of the Programmes
and Entities of the Department
A reorganisation of the Departments
programme budget structure in 2014/15 sought to incorporate the recommendations
of the 2012 Ministerial Review Committee Report on the Science, Technology and
Innovation Landscape in South Africa. The name changes are reflected in Table
2. The entities are listed with the Programmes from which they are funded.
Table 2:
Programme structure of the Department of Science and Technology
Old
Programme Name
|
New
Programme Name
|
Programme 1: Administration
|
unchanged
|
Programme 2: Research, Development and
Innovation
|
Technology Innovation
|
Programme 3: International Cooperation and
Resources
|
unchanged
|
Programme 4: Human Capital and Knowledge
Systems
|
Research, Development and Support
|
Programme 5: Socio-Economic Partnerships
|
Socio-Economic Innovation Partnerships
|
Programme
1: Administration
Programme 1 remains unchanged. The purpose of
Programme 1 is to conduct the overall management and administration of the
Department and ensure that the organisations funded by the Department comply
with good corporate governance and that their activities are aligned with the
strategic focus of the NSI. It also monitors and evaluates the performance of
the science councils. This programme has five sub-programmes, i.e., Ministry,
Management, Corporate Services, Governance and Office Accommodation. Of the
total appropriation of R6.47 billion, R291.0 million will be spent on Programme
1, mainly on compensation of employees (R137.0 million) and on goods and
services (R139.5 million). Due to a lack of management advisory services skills
within the Department, expenditure on consultants is expected to increase over
the medium term.
Funding for the National Advisory Committee
on Innovation (NACI) is allocated within this
programme.Its
mandate is to generate and deliver clear, evidence-based and autonomous advice
to the Minister of Science and Technology and through her, the government of
South Africa, on the role and contribution of innovation in promoting and
achieving national objectives. NACIs advisory services are directed at,
amongst others, the:
Coordination and stimulation of the NSI;
Development and maintenance of human
resources for STI;
Revision of the innovation policy to
ensure coherence;
Strategies or models for the promotion
of all aspects of technological and non-technological innovation;
Funding of the S&T system;
Identification of research and
development priorities in consultation with provincial departments and other
interested parties;
Establishment, phasing out,
rationalisation and management of science councils and national research
facilities;
Establishment and maintenance of STI
indicator systems; and
International liaison and co-operation
in STI.
Programme
2: Technology Innovation
Programme 2 has changed from Research,
Development and Innovation to Technology Innovation to reflect that the
Department needs to improve the innovation capacity of the NSI. The emphasis
for Programme 2 now is not on knowledge generation per se, but rather more on
knowledge exploitation and the commercialisation thereof. Hence, the purpose of
Programme 2 is to promote the realisation of commercial products, processes and
services from research and development (R&D) outputs, via the
implementation of enabling policy instruments. This programme has five
sub-programmes, i.e., Space Science, Hydrogen and Energy,
Bioeconomy
,
Innovation Priorities and Instruments (IPI) and the National Intellectual
Property Management Office (NIPMO). The spending focus over the medium term
will be on the IPI sub-programme to support the policy of creating an enabling
environment for innovation, technology development and the commercialisation of
publicly financed R&D initiatives. The allocation to the IPI sub-programme
constitutes 52 per cent (R517.3 million) of the total budget (R991.6 million)
allocated to this programme.
Sixty four (64) per cent (R635.6 million) of Programme
2s budget constitutes Transfers and subsidies to departmental agencies and
accounts. The agencies receiving the bulk of the funding within this Programme
are the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) (R380.7 million) and the South
African National Space Agency (SANSA) (R118.3 million). The TIA serves as the
key institutional intervention to bridge the innovation chasm between R&D
and technological innovation. Even though there is a decrease in budget
allocation for the TIA from R481.1 million in 2013/14 to R380.7 million in
2014/15 due to slower than expected spending, the Department does not expect
that the reduction will impact on service delivery. The spending focus over the
medium term will include stimulating the development and commercialisation of
technology based services, processes and products; supporting the development
of technology enterprises; and establishing a technology innovation culture. The
Committee still has to be briefed on the outcomes of the 2013 forensic
investigation into the management and operations of TIA as well as the progress
made with implementing the recommendations of the 2013 TIA Review Report. The TIA
has been the cause of the Department not achieving some of its performance
targets in the past few years. This was due to a misalignment of TIAs objectives
with those of the Department.
This anomaly and the reasons
for it arising needs to be monitored closely in future.
The mandate of SANSA is to promote the
peaceful use of space, foster international cooperation in space related
activities and facilitate the creation of an enabling environment for the
development of a space technology industry. Despite SANSA being allocated less
funding in 2014/15, the overall funding over the MTEF is slightly more (R367.7
million) than what was allocated over the previous three years (R356.4
million). The spending focus over the medium term will be on space research;
space systems development; the development of an earth observation satellite;
and the acquisition, maintenance and distribution of satellite imagery and
space weather data.
The key performance
indicators for this Programme, as highlighted during the Departments second
briefing presentation, included:
·
Development of
sixnew
technology innovation products in key strategic
areas (Space science, Energy, Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and Photonics)
by 31 March 2015.
·
Production of
sixpost
-graduate
students (MSc and PhD) in key strategic areas by 31 March 2015.
Programme
3: International Cooperation and Resources
Programme 3 remains unchanged. The purpose of
Programme 3 is to develop, promote and manage international relationships,
opportunities and S&T agreements that both strengthen the NSI and enable an
exchange of knowledge, capacity and resources between South Africa and its
regional and international
partners.This
programme
has three sub-programmes, i.e., Multilateral Cooperation and Africa, International
Resources and Overseas Bilateral Cooperation. Of the R119.7 million allocated
for this programme, almost 46.6 per cent (R55.0 million) is transferred to
non-profit institutions. The other portion of the funds, 36.2 per cent (R43.4
million) is allocated to compensation of employees and 18.1 per cent (R21.7
million) to goods and services. Of the half that is allocated to non-profit
institutions, R33 million is for International Resources, R13 million is for
Bilateral Cooperation and R8.1 million is for African Multilateral agreements.
The spending focus over the medium term is on
engagements with the European Union (EU) and managing bilateral relationships
and Africa-to-Africa engagements. Most of the funding is channelled towards
international human capital development opportunities to allow South African
researchers to participate in these opportunities.
The key
performance indicators for this Programme, as highlighted during the
Departments second briefing presentation, included:
·
Securing of R354.6 million of
foreign STI funds from international partners through leveraging with local
funds by 31 March 2015.
·
Creation of 44 international
human capital development opportunities accessed for participation by South
African researchers and students by 31 March 2015.
Programme
4: Research, Development and Support
Programme 4 has changed from Human Capital
and Knowledge Systems to Research, Development and Support to reflect that it is
now dedicated purely to knowledge generating activities and particularly to
human capital development and the modernisation of the S&T research
infrastructure in South Africa. This Programme has four sub-programmes. The
Human Capital and Science Platforms sub-programme becomes Human Capital and
Science Promotions to reflect the emphasis on the promotion of human capital
development. The Emerging Research Areas and Infrastructure sub-programme has
changed into Basic Sciences and Infrastructure to focus on the provision and
implementation of research and innovation equipment and infrastructure to
promote knowledge production. This area needs attention especially in the
high-end sciences. The Astronomy sub-programme, which is more in line with
knowledge generation
activity
,was
moved into this Programme from Programme 2. The IKS sub-programme has been
moved from Programme 4 into Programme 2 under the
Bioeconomy
sub-programme to reflect the inclusion of IK-based technologies in the
Bioeconomy
Strategy.A
new Science
Missions sub-programme has been added to promote research in areas in which
South Africa enjoys a geographical advantage. These areas of research are
climate change, Antarctic and marine research,
palaeosciences
and IKS.
Programme 4 has performed fairly well in the
past and is expected to perform even better now that the innovation activities
related to IK-based technologies have all been migrated into the more fitting Programme
2 under the
Bioeconomy
sub-programme.
Programme 4receives more than half the budget
of the Department, an indication of the commitment to develop human capital and
research infrastructure for the
NSI.The
biggest
expenditure item under this Programme is toward Human Capital and Science
Promotions (R1.87 billion). A sub-programme aimed at formulating and
implementing policies and strategies that address the availability of human
capital for the STI sectors of the
economy.More
funds
will be directed at increasing the number of and bursary stipends awarded,
especially in the fields of astronomy, archaeology and palaeontology. Over the
medium term, the budget allocation for R&D infrastructure has increased
from R980.9 million to R2.12 billion. The SKA has also been allocated a
substantial amount of funds (R2.05 billion) to advance radio astronomy in the
country.
The entities funded under Programme 4 are the
National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Academy of Science of South Africa (
ASSAf
). The NRF is allocated R2.2 billion and its mandate
is to promote and support research in all fields of science. The NRF also
provides research funding and platforms through national facilities and science
engagement activities. The Academy is allocated R21.6 million and its mandate
is to promote outstanding achievement in all fields of scientific enquiry and
provide evidence-based scientific advice to government and other stakeholders.
The key
performance indicators for this Programme, as highlighted during the
Departments second briefing presentation, included:
·
Awarding of 11 440
post-graduate students (3 414
Btech
and Honours,
4 671 Masters, 665 PhD and 690 post-doctoral fellows with bursaries by 31
March 2015.
·
Production of 5 700 research
articles by NRF-funded researchers, published in Institute for Scientific
Information (ISI)-accredited journals by 31 March 2015.
Programme
5: Socio-Economic Innovation Partnerships
Programme 5 changed from Socio-economic Partnerships
to Socio-Economic Innovation Partnerships to include the innovation element in
research that has the potential to impact positively on socio-economic development.
This programme has four sub-programmes. The functions of the former Science and
Technology for Economic Impact sub-programme were split between two new
sub-programmes. These new sub-programmes are Technology Localisation
Beneficiation and Advanced Manufacturing, and Sector Innovation and Green
Economy. The former Science and Technology for Social Impact sub-programme becomes
the Innovation for Inclusive Development sub-programme, but the mandate has
stayed the same. The Science and Technology Investment sub-programme has not
changed.The
purpose of Programme 5 is to enhance the growth
and development priorities of Government through targeted STI interventions and
the development of strategic partnerships with all levels of government,
industry, research institutions and communities.
More than half (54 per cent) of the total
allocation (R1.56 billion) for this Programme is dedicated to the Sector
Innovation and Green Economy sub-programme. This is expected to establish high-impact
science research that would support the growth of environmental technologies
and services in South Africa. The Technology Localisation, Beneficiation and
Advanced Manufacturing sub-programme has been boosted with more funding over
the medium term (R1.41 billion) compared to the previous three years (R570.8
million).
Although the Department achieved most of its
targets in 2012/13, it
hadfailed
to achieve certain
targets that are crucial to economic growth and job creation.
These
include (i) not reaching its targets regarding the number of technology-based
enterprises supported per year and (ii) not reaching its targets regarding the
number of small and medium enterprises provided with technology support per
year.
The entities funded under Programme 5 are the
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) (R825.7 million) and the
Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) (R276 million).The HSRCs budget has
remained the same year on year, but increases by about a R100 million over the medium
term. The HSRCs mandate is to undertake, promote and coordinate research in
the human and social sciences. The CSIR budget has slightly increased from
R2.21 billion in the previous 3 years to R2.52 billion over the medium term.
The CSIRs mandate is to foster industrial and scientific development in the
national interest through multidisciplinary research and technological
innovation.
The key
performance indicators for this Programme, as highlighted during the
Departments second briefing presentation, included:
·
Funding 10
Masters
and Doctoral students in designated niche areas (sustainable development, the
greening of society and the economy) by 31 March 2015.
·
Support of
eightinstruments
related to localisation, competitiveness and R&D-led industry development
by 31 March 2015.
5.
Committee
Observations
1.
The Committee accepted the apology from the
Minister of Science and Technology, Ms
NalediPandor
,
for not being available to attend the Committees deliberations on Budget Vote
34. The Committee welcomed the introductory and concluding remarks by the
Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Ms
ZanelekaMagwaza-Msibi
.
2.
The Committee acknowledges that many of its
Members are new to the portfolio of science and technology and would thus
require follow-up engagements with the Department and its entities. This is
necessary to further enhance their understanding of the operations of the
Department and strengthen their oversight capacity to deal with matters in this
regard.
3.
The Committee agreed to visit entities as an
important mechanism to attain the in-depth knowledge about the operations and
programmes of the entities.
4.
In light of the above, the Committee further
undertakes to monitor
regularlythe
progress of the
Department and its entities; especially in relation to key priorities
highlighted in the National Development Plan (NDP), the New Growth Path (NGP)
Framework and the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP).
5.
The Committee encourages the Department to continue
strengthening the innovation capacity of the country and forge the necessary
linkages with all the instruments of the National System of Innovation (NSI),
including innovation partnerships with the private sector.
6.
The Committee notes the important role that
agencies such as the National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO)
have to play in supporting the countrys innovation system. The Committee
questioned whether NIPMOs budget was adequate to fulfil its mandate.
7.
The Committee notes that intergovernmental
collaborative partnerships are instrumental in ensuring the success of both the
science and innovation systems.
8.
The Committee notes
that the gross expenditure on R&D, as a percentage of GDP had slowed,
instead of increasing. They enquired about the Departments ability to meet the
percentage target for R&D expenditure of 1.5 per cent by 2019. The
Committee resolves to have a briefing on this matter.
9.
The Committee notes
the importance that IKS has played in the well-being of society. The Committee
is keen to have follow-up briefings on the Departments IKS programme and the
National
Recordal
System (NRS).
10.
The Committee noted the vacancy rate in the Department and the money spent
on consultants.
11.
The Committee notes the NDPs resolution to increase the number of PhD
graduates to 100 PhDs per million by 2030 and is keen to have follow-up
engagements regarding the achievement of this initiative.
12.
The Committee requires a further detailed breakdown of the Departments
and its entities budgets.
13.
The
Committee notes the Departments record of receiving unqualified reports by the
Auditor-General, but
encourages tightening
of internal control systems and supply chain management systems at the
Department.
6.
Committee
Recommendations
1.
The Committee recommends that the budget for
NIPMObe
reviewed to ensure that they have the necessary
resources to fulfil its mandate.
2.
The Committee recommends the strengthening of
relations between the Department and various other government departments in
which science and technology is transversal (particularly, Department of Basic
Education and Higher Education).
3.
The Committee recommends
that the Department work towards filling all vacancies and reconsider their
spending on the hiring of consultants.
Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology, having considered and
concluded its deliberations on Budget Vote 34 and the Annual Performance Plan
of the Department of Science and Technology for the 2014/15 fiscal year,
supports the Vote.
The Democratic Alliance and the Economic
Freedom Fighters reserved their right to an opinion on the Budget.
Report to
be considered.
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