ATC121024: 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 2011/12 financial year, dated 24 October 2012
Science, Technology and Innovation
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 2011/12 financial year, dated 24 October 2012
The Portfolio Committee on Science and
Technology, having assessed the performance of the Department of Science and Technology,
reports as follows:
1.
Introduction
The purpose of the report is to
provide an analysis of the performance of the Department of Science and Technology
(hereafter, the Department) against its predetermined objectives. The report includes
an assessment of the financial performance of the Department and its entities for
the 2011/12 financial year and records the observations, conclusions and the recommendations
made by the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology (hereafter, the
Committee) during their deliberations.
1.1
Mandate of the Committee,
including provision of Section 5 of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and
Related Matters Act, No 9 of 2009
The Committee oversees the
activities of the Department as well as the entities reporting to it. A key
element of its oversight function includes scrutinizing the annual reports and
expenditure of the Department and its entities.
The Money Bills Procedures and Related
Matters Amendment Act, provides Parliament with the legislative mandate to make
recommendations to the Minister of Finance to amend the budget of a national department.
The Committee must submit an annual Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report
(BRRR) for the Department, which may contain recommendations relating to
funding allocations. This annual review and analysis of performance includes
both financial and non-financial indicators.
The Committee considered the budget allocation
to the Department for the 2012/13 financial year on 18 April 2012. The
Committee considered the Departments 2011/12 Annual Report on 11 October 2012.
Engagements with entities were also conducted during the period under review.
These entities included
inter alia
the National Research Foundation (NRF), the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR), the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the Technology
Innovation Agency (TIA), the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), the Africa
Institute of South Africa (AISA) and the National Advisory Council on Innovation
(NACI).
2.
Policy Priorities
of the Department of Science and Technology
The Departments major policy
documents are the 1996 White Paper on Science and Technology, the 2002 National
Research and Development Strategy (NRDS), the 2004 New Strategic Management
Model for
A fact further enforced by the call
of the Minister in the Presidency: National Planning Commission for South
Africans to embrace the key drivers of change outlined in the National
Development Plan Vision for 2030. These include; the shift in the world
economy from West to East, globalisation, the resurgence of Africa, climate
change, increased interconnectivity among people (for example, through
cellphones and internet) and the increasing reliance on technology, which means
South Africa would have to spend more on research and development (R&D).
The
Department's policy framework is embedded within and aligned to broader
government priorities and policy, as articulated in the Medium Term Strategic
Framework (MTSF) and the New Growth Path (NGP). In addition, the Department
contributes directly to three of the 12 national government priority outcomes.
These are:
·
Outcome 2 (helping realise 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).
With
regard to Outcome 4, the Department is expected to contribute to the
achievement of two targets. These are, (i) improving the country's global
competitiveness rating and (ii) developing a strategy to increase the country's
gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) as a percentage of
With
regard to Outcome 5, the Department has committed to contribute towards four
outputs which are: increase access to high level occupationally directed
programmes in needed areas; research, development and innovation in human
capital for growing the knowledge economy; provide support to
industry-university partnerships and; increase investment in research and
development, especially in the science, engineering and technology sector.
The
strategic goals of the Department are to:
·
Develop the innovation capacity of the National System of
Innovation (NSI), thereby contributing to socio-economic development;
·
Enhance
·
Develop appropriate science, technology and innovation (STI)
human capital to meet the needs of society;
·
Build world-class STI infrastructure to extend the frontiers
of knowledge, train the next generation of researchers, and enable technology
development and transfer, as well as knowledge interchange; and
·
Position
2.1
Planned
Policy Initiatives
The Department plans, over the next
three to five years, to focus its activities on three priority domains, that
is, research and development, human capital development and infrastructure. It
will, therefore:
·
Finalise the Human Capital
Development Strategy for Research and Innovation;
·
Develop a science, technology,
engineering, mathematics and innovation (STEMI) promotion and engagement
strategy;
·
Continue to pursue enhanced
investment and co-operation on STI across
·
Re-assess the R&D Tax Incentive
and the Venture Capital Tax Company Incentive to improve its effectiveness;
·
Establish an astronomy entity;
·
Finalise an Antarctic Research
Strategy;
·
Finalise a Marine Biology Research
Strategy;
·
Complete three policy case studies,
for government planning and service delivery improvement through innovation, on
housing, water and sanitation; and
·
Develop a sustainability model for
the ongoing development and rollout of cyberinfrastructure, and an investment
and growth strategy for the provision of scientific equipment to support
research and innovation.
3.
Programme Structure and Performance
As stated, the Departments
fundamental responsibility is to develop RDI policies in line with the White
Paper on Science and Technology and, therefore, does not provide services to
any institution or persons on a recoverable basis.
The Departments operational
activities are structured into five programmes, namely, Administration;
Research, Development and Innovation; International Co-operation and Resources;
Human Capital and Knowledge Systems; and Socio-Economic Partnerships. Each of
these Programmes has a set of strategic objectives that are linked to
performance indicators. The amount each programme and sub-programme is allocated
can be used to identify and assess the Departments key focus areas.
Table 1.
The 2011/12
programme and sub-programme budget allocation of the Department of Science and
Technology
Programmes and
percentage allocation of total budget
|
Sub-programmes
|
2011/12
(R thousand)
|
Sub-programme
allocation of programme allocation
|
1.
Administration
|
|
195 701
|
1.79 per cent
|
4.4 per
cent
|
Ministry
|
3 494
|
|
Management
|
72 085
|
36.84 per cent
|
|
Corporate Services
|
108 108
|
55.24 per cent
|
|
Governance
|
8 022
|
4.09 per cent
|
|
Office Accommodation
|
3 992
|
2.04 per cent
|
|
2.
Research, Development and Innovation
|
854 610
|
15.14 per cent
|
|
19.4 per
cent
|
Space Science
|
129 434
|
|
Hydrogen and Energy
|
140 578
|
16.45 per cent
|
|
Biotechnology and Health
|
112 920
|
13.21 per cent
|
|
Innovation Planning and Instruments
|
471 678
|
55.20 per cent
|
|
3.
International Co-operation and Resources
|
137 194
|
43.73 per cent
|
|
3.1 per
cent
|
Multilateral Co-operation and
|
59 955
|
|
International Resources
|
47 212
|
34.40 per cent
|
|
Overseas Bilateral Co-operation
|
30 027
|
21.87 per cent
|
|
4.
Human Capital and Knowledge Systems
|
1 950 427
|
72.08 per cent
|
|
44.3 per
cent
|
Human Capital and Science
Platforms
|
1 405 844
|
|
Indigenous Knowledge Systems
|
17 132
|
0.88 per cent
|
|
Emerging Research Areas and
Infrastructure
|
527 451
|
27.05 per cent
|
|
5.
Socio-Economic Partnerships
|
1 269 071
|
74.52 per cent
|
|
28.8 per
cent
|
Science and Technology for
Economic Impact
|
945 676
|
|
Science and Technology for Social
Impact
|
296 798
|
23.39 per cent
|
|
Science and Technology Investment
|
26 597
|
2.10 per cent
|
|
TOTAL
|
4 407 003
|
|
The key focus areas of the
Department for the medium term is to build and strengthen STI human capital;
generate and maximise the use of knowledge; and strengthen international
co-operation in science, technology and engineering (SET). Table 1 show that
the Departments budget allocation speaks directly to this. Hence, the first
key focus area, namely human capital development, received in 2011/12 at a
programme level (Programme 4), 44.4 per cent of the Departments total
allocation and 72 per cent of Programme 4s allocation. The second key focus
area, namely, generating and using knowledge, received 19.4 per cent (Programme
2) and 28.8 per cent (Programme 5) of the Departments total allocation. The
last key focus area, namely, strengthening international co-operation, received
3.1 per cent (Programme 3) of the Departments total allocation. Here the
spending focus is on advancing and facilitating
Programme
1: Administration
This programme, consisting of five sub-programmes, is
responsible for the overall management of the Department, and ensures that the
organisations funded, comply with good corporate governance practices, and
align their activities with the strategic focus of the NSI. It is also
responsible for monitoring and evaluating the performance of the science
councils.
Programme
2: Research, Development and Innovation
This programme, consisting of
four sub-programmes, facilitates knowledge generation and exploitation through
R&D in space science, the bio-economy and energy. Its purpose is to provide
policy leadership in long term and cross cutting research and innovation in the
NSI. The strategic objectives of Programme 2 are:
·
Enhancing
·
Facilitating the commercialisation of R&D outcomes; and
·
Promoting co-ordination among relevant stakeholders in the
NSI.
Notable achievements for the 2011/12
financial year includes winning the bid to host the bulk of the Square
Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope project, making SANSA operational;
establishing an interim National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO);
and completing the review of the technology platforms. The TIA established
regional offices in Limpopo and the
Programme
3: International Co-operation and Resources
This programme, consisting of
three sub-programmes, aims to strategically develop, promote and manage
international relationships, opportunities and science and technology
agreements that strengthen the NSI and enable an exchange of knowledge,
capacity and resources between South Africa and its regional and international
partners. The strategic objectives of Programme 3 are:
·
Leveraging foreign STI funds;
·
Increasing funding of STI
development in
·
Increasing access to global
knowledge and STI networks; and
·
Increasing participation of South
African students in international co-operative STI research projects.
Notable achievements for the 2011/12
financial year includes leveraging R285 million in foreign STI funds; spending
R63.8 million on S&T based socio-economic development in Africa; 3 460
South African STI role players had access to foreign participants in global
knowledge and STI networks; and 1 270 South African students participated in
international co-operative STI research projects under development partnership
programmes. Furthermore, the Department secured R120 million from the African
Renaissance Fund for the Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (VLBIN). The
number of strategic African partner countries with which S&T agreements
have been signed reached 18 when an agreement was signed with
Programme
4: Human Capital and Knowledge Systems
This programme, consisting of
three sub-programmes, aims to develop and implement national programmes to
produce knowledge and develop human capital and the associated infrastructure,
equipment and public research services. The strategic objectives of Programme 4
are:
·
Building a SET human capital pipeline;
·
Increasing
·
Developing new and emerging research areas;
·
Ensuring the availability of appropriate infrastructure; and
·
Promoting research, development and innovation in indigenous
knowledge systems (IKS).
Notable achievements for the 2011/12
financial year includes the awarding of bursaries to 1 692 Honours, 3 478
Masters and 1 913 PhD students and supporting 2 886 researcher. The national
Nanotechnology Innovation Centres (NICs) published 103
papers,
filed one patent and have three patents under development. Furthermore, the
Department awarded 50 research equipment grants and connected 86 research and
teaching institutions to the South African National Research Network (SANReN).
Under the IKS R&D platform, the commercialisation process was initiated for
one cosmeceutical candidate product, preclinical studies were completed on a
diabetes lead and good progress was achieved on preclinical studies for TB and
HIV projects.
Programme
5: Socio-Economic Partnerships
This programme, consisting of three
sub-programmes, aims to enhance 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. Hence, interventions include high potential
R&D-led industrial development programmes, technology support programmes
for industry, introducing new approaches to government service delivery and
planning, strengthening science-based policy development and decision-making,
demonstrating technology-led opportunities for creating sustainable jobs and
wealth creation, and strengthening the contribution of technology in
sustainable human settlements. The strategic objectives of Programme 5 are to:
·
Demonstrate strategic technology-based interventions for
poverty reduction;
·
Grow and strengthen S&T capability for sustainable
development and a green economy;
·
Promote growth in public and private sector investments in
S&T and R&D; and
·
Support the development of new industries in advanced
manufacturing, chemicals, advanced metals and Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs).
Notable achievements for the 2011/12
financial year includes supporting 33 postgraduate students in minerals
beneficiation technology, 39 postgraduate students in titanium research, and 49
full-time ICT studentships at masters, PhD and postdoctoral level. The
Technology Stations and Institutes of Advanced Tooling (IAT) hosted 130 interns
at different levels. Of the interns, 22 per cent were deployed directly in
industry and 78 per cent were based at various technology stations and IATs. A
biocomposites Centre of Competence (CoC) was established and a number of
biocomposite parcel trays have been produced and submitted to one of the
automotive firms for product acceptance testing. Furthermore, a joint patent
application for biocomposite panels in the aviation industry was submitted. 1
918 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) received technology support through the
Technology Stations Programme. The Kleinmond Low-cost Housing demonstrator was
successfully completed in the
During 2011/12, the Department
reported that, overall, it had achieved 67 per cent of its performance targets.
The Departments programme performance is as follows:
·
Programme 2 achieved 56 per cent (9 of 16) of its targets,
25 per cent (4 of 16) of its targets were partly achieved and 19 per cent (3 of
16) were not achieved;
·
Programme 3 achieved 87 per cent (13 of 15) of its targets,
one target was partly achieved and one target was not achieved;
·
Programme 4 achieved 60 per cent (21 of 35) of its targets,
34 per cent (12 of 35) of its targets were partly achieved and 6 per cent (2 of
35) were not achieved; and
·
Programme 5 achieved 60 per cent (9 of 15) of its targets
and partly achieved 40 per cent (6 of 15) of its targets.
The Department also achieved 80 per
cent (8 of 10) of its performance targets listed in the 2011 Estimates of
National Expenditure (ENE). The remaining two targets were partly achieved. The
targets listed in the ENE demonstrate the strategic link between the
Departments performance and its expenditure.
The performance targets that were
not achieved include:
·
Creating 100 construction jobs in the
·
Establishing and/or recapitalising four Offices of
Technology Transfer (OTTs). The Department states that this target could not be
achieved because of the lack of budget allocation to NIPMO;
·
Establishing four CoCs and/or technology demonstrators. The
Department states that the process towards technology demonstrators for the
Biotechnology (sugarcane beneficiation and industrial wastewater treatment) and
Solar CoCs had been delayed. The Space CoC budget was transferred to SANSA
since no allocation had been received from National Treasury for the
operationalisation of SANSA;
·
Securing 10 countries to exhibit at the 2012 International
Science, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (INSITE 2012). As at 30 September
2011, only two countries were secured and the Departments Executive Committee
(EXCO) decided not to proceed with the hosting of INSITE 2012;
·
Approving the guiding principles for the integrated science
awareness framework. This was not approved by the EXCO. Instead, the EXCO
provided guidance on the development of the Science, Technology, Engineering,
Mathematics and Innovation (STEMI) engagement strategy; and
·
Approving the framework for the expansion of the Centre of
Excellence (CoE) programme. The Department states that this target was not met because
it decided to prioritise the improvement of the existing CoE programmes performance.
4.
Expenditure Information
4.1
2011/2012 financial year
The main appropriation of the Department for the
2011/12 financial year was R4.404 billion, which represents an inflation-adjusted
increase of 1.8 per cent from the 2010/11 financial year allocation. The main
appropriation increased by R2.4 million to R4.407 billion after the budgetary
adjustment process. The R2.4 million was to cover inflationary increases to
salaries. This increase, as well as R1.2 million from Programme 5, increased
Programme 1s appropriation from R192 million to R196 million. The original
appropriation of Programmes 2 to 4 remained the same. P
rogramme 5s appropriation decreased
(by R1.2 million) to R1.269 billion.
According
to the data published monthly by National Treasury, the Department spent R1.203
billion (27.3 per cent) of its total appropriation during the first quarter of
2011/12. The Department spent, according to economic classification, R72.9
million of the R369.7 million allocated for Current Payments, R1.129 billion of
the R4.032 billion allocated for Transfers and Subsidies and R1.3 million of
the R3.3 million allocated for Payments for Capital Assets. The total monthly
expenditure was R647.5 million in April, R194.7 million in May and R361.3
million in June.
The
Department spent a further R1.284 billion of its total appropriation by the
second quarter of 2011/12, bringing the total expenditure to R2.488 billion
(56.5 per cent). The Department spent, according to economic classification,
R156.5 million of the R369.7 million allocated for Current Payments, R2.328
billion of the R4.032 billion allocated for Transfers and Subsidies, R3.1
million of the R3.3 million allocated for Payments for Capital Assets and R183
000 on Payment for Financial Assets. The total monthly expenditure was R615.2
million in July, R479.9 million in August and R189.5 million in September.
The
Department spent a further R1.032 billion of its total appropriation by the
third quarter of 2011/12, bringing the total expenditure to R3.520 billion
(79.9 per cent). The Department spent, according to economic classification,
R252.8 million of the R365.3 million (revised estimate, down from R369.7
million) allocated for Current Payments, R3.263 billion of the R4.038 billion
(revised estimate, up from R4.032 billion) allocated for Transfers and
Subsidies and R4.6 million for Payments for Capital Assets. The total monthly
expenditure was R691.9 million in October, R235.7 million in November and
R104.8 million in December.
The
Department spent a further R883 million of its total appropriation by the end
of the fourth quarter of 2011/12, bringing the total expenditure for the
2011/12 financial year to R4.403 billion (99.9 per cent of total
appropriation). In the 2010/11 financial year, the Department had spent 98 per
cent of its total appropriation.
During
2011/12, the Department spent according to programme classification, the
following amounts:
·
Programme 1: Administration - R195.6
million of the R195.9 million appropriated;
·
Programme 2: Research, Development
and Innovation - R854.9 million of the R855.4 million appropriated;
·
Programme 3: International Co-operation
and Resources - R132.3 million of the R132.6 million appropriated;
·
Programme 4: Human Capital and
Knowledge Systems R1.956 billion of the R1.957 billion appropriated; and
·
Programme 5: Socio-Economic
Partnerships R1.264 billion of the R1.266 billion appropriated.
The Department attributes its
under-spending in 2011/12 specifically to staff turnover and the resultant
administrative costs and to delays in the procurement of goods and services in
Programmes 4 and 5.
The Department incurred irregular
expenditure amounting to R1.5 million, where R1.2 million and R35 000 was for
goods and services that were procured without following procurement procedures;
and R325 000 was for officials from various African countries who attended,
without Ministerial approval, the 7
th
SKA Working Group meeting in
Botswana that was arranged by the Department. The Department also incurred
fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounting to R60 000 due to two external
officials not arriving for the 7
th
SKA Working Group meeting. These
instances are reported as being under investigation.
As at 31 March 2012, the
Departments vacancy rate was 8.79 per cent (384 of 421 posts filled), with the
Senior Management salary band having the highest percentage of vacancies, i.e.
14.29 per cent (16 vacant positions).
4.2
First quarter of the 2012/13 financial
year
The Department received an
allocation of R4.9 billion in the 2012/13 financial year, which represents 0.5
per cent of the national budget (R969.4 billion). In real terms
(inflation-adjusted), the Departments 2012/13 budget allocation has increased
by 6.2 per cent compared to the 2011/12 financial years allocation of R4.4
billion. The Department spent R1.3 billion (25.8 per cent) of its total budget
by the end of the first quarter of the 2012/13 financial year.
During the
first quarter, the Department spent according to programme classification, the
following amounts:
·
Programme 1: Administration R55
million of the R202.7 million appropriated;
·
Programme 2: Research, Development
and Innovation R468.5 million of the R1.2 billion appropriated;
·
Programme 3: International Co-operation
and Resources R35.1 million of the R141.2 million appropriated;
·
Programme 4: Human Capital and
Knowledge Systems R387.7 million of the R2 billion appropriated; and
·
Programme 5: Socio-Economic
Partnerships R334.5 million of the R1.4 billion appropriated.
5.
Findings
of the Auditor-General
The Auditor-General (AG) awarded the
Department an unqualified audit opinion for the 2011/12 financial year.
The AG, however, reported the following
findings in relation to the Departments predetermined objectives and internal
control. The AG found that 42 per cent of the reported performance indicators
and targets were not consistent with those reported in the Departments
strategic plan and annual performance plan. Furthermore, the required
performance could not be measured for 25 per cent of Programme 2s targets and
four targets that were selected for audit. The AG also states that the targets
that were not achieved (33 per cent) were not suitably developed (measurable, specific
and well defined) during the strategic planning process. The AG states that
with regard to leadership in the Department that the implementation of internal
controls relating to performance information can be improved so that there is
alignment between these controls and the Departments operational plans.
These findings of the AG reflect a
regression by the Department in relation to the previous financial year, when
the Department received an unqualified audit opinion with no findings.
6.
Observations
of the
Portfolio C
ommittee on Science and Technology
6.1
Emanating from oversight
activities and engagements with the Department
In fulfilling its oversight mandate,
the Committee had a number of engagements and undertook visits to some of the
entities and projects, which the Department reported on in their annual report.
The Committee welcomed the positive
outcome of the SKA site bid decision. This is a clear acknowledgement of the
immense efforts by the Department and in particular the SKA project teams work
over the past number of years. As one of the biggest science and engineering
projects in the world, the SKA represents an unprecedented research advantage
for the entire African (and global) scientific community and will provide many opportunities
for the development of very high-level skills and expertise in
The Committee had a number of
briefings that focused on the Departments Grand Challenges, in particular
updates thereof. The five Grand Challenges in science and technology are geared
towards addressing an array of social, economic, political, scientific and
technological benefits and are designed to stimulate multidisciplinary thinking
and to challenge researchers to answer existing questions, create new
disciplines and develop new technologies.
The Committee urged the Department
to finalise the Bio-economy strategy because the completion of the strategy is
important in guiding the research, development and investment priorities for
the programmes governed by this strategy. The Department indicated that the
strategy would be finalised by the end of November 2012. They assured the
Committee that despite the strategy not being finished, work was still taking
place in implementing the objectives of the strategy.
With regard to the Human and Social
Dynamics Grand Challenge, the Committee was assured that the impact of the
programme would be closely monitored. The Committee looks forward to progress
briefings on this intervention.
Oversight of the Departments role
in the implementation of
The Committee encouraged
the Department to provide more detail on their role of science and technology
in energy security, the development of alternative energy generation technology
and green energy resources to minimize the impact of climate change.
The Committee notes that
many government departments are responsible for addressing the five Grand Challenges;
therefore, intergovernmental collaborative partnerships are instrumental in
ensuring the success of these challenges. Enhanced co-ordination is necessary
even at parliamentary level amongst the various portfolio and select committees
in instances where science and technology issues are transversal.
The Committee visited the European
Union Parliament and engaged with officials on matters of science and
technology. The Committee notes that South Africa (SA) and the European Union
(EU) enjoy a longstanding political, economic and development co-operation
partnership, and the co-operation agreement on science and technology is
considered, by both countries, to be one of their most strategic partnerships
in international science and technology relations. The committee recognises
that
With particular reference to the
Kleinmond low-cost housing demonstrator and the aquaculture farms, the
Committee noted that one of the major obstacles for the uptake and/or
large-scale rollout of the technology solutions emanating from the research and
development funded by the Department, is the lack of co-ordination and
co-operation at all levels of governance. The Committee has resolved,
therefore, that when it formulates its future programme, it will as far as
possible, try to arrange joint sittings with other Committees and invite
national Departments that have an interest in the work being done by the
Department and its entities. Furthermore, the Committee has also requested that
the Department and its entities report on and enhance their efforts to get
other Departments to consider and adopt technology solutions developed by South
Africans for
The Committee noted the 41
recommendations made by the Ministerial Review Committee on the Science,
Technology and Innovation Landscape on how the NSI could be strengthened going
forward. The Minister of Science and Technology formulated an Internal Working
Committee to evaluate these recommendations. The Committee will have to remain
informed of which recommendations will be accepted since it could mean
extensive changes to the countrys science system.
Members raised their concerns regarding
the efficacy of the R&D Tax Incentive Programme. Though not as effective as
the Department would wish it to be, the objective of the Tax Incentive
Programme was to ensure that there was an overall increase in the number of
private sector companies conducting R&D in
The question around governments level of
involvement in
Sunspace,
arose throughout the
Committee proceedings. Interest was also expressed about the status of the
African Resource Management Constellation (ARMC). It was agreed that the
Department would brief the Committee specifically on these matters.
Members expressed concern about the
possible negative effects that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of the
6.2
Emanating
from the 2011/12 Annual Report briefing
The Committee
noted the AGs finding that 42 per cent of the reported performance
indicators and targets were not consistent with those reported in the
Departments strategic plan and annual performance plan.
The Committee requested an
explanation of the findings made by the AG regarding the Departments
predetermined objectives. The Department attributed their shortcomings to an
oversight in understanding/implementing National Treasury requirements to manage
performance information. The Department assured the Committee that this would
not happen again.
In light of the above, the Committee
noted the Departments undertaking to review the manner in which they define
their performance indicators to better align them with their mandate. The
current challenge was that inappropriately defined performance indicators
resulted in targets being set, which when they are not achieved reflects as
underperformance. The Department undertook to ensure that future targets would
be specific, measurable and time bound.
The Committee noted the number of
high-level vacant posts. The Department assured them that processes were
underway to fill these positions. The Committee, nevertheless, undertook to
monitor the filling of posts.
The Committee wanted to know to what
extent there was engagement with the National Treasury to have the Intellectual
Property Fund, managed by NIPMO, increased. The Department answered that they had
made proposals to the National Treasury to have the fund increased.
The Committee wanted clarity on the
Departments strategy to increase research and development investment and
whether their aim of spending 1.5 per cent of GDP on research and development
by 2014 could still be achieved.
The Department
explained that GDP had grown faster than the national investment in R&D.
The amount currently invested in R&D would have to double to realise the
2014 goal. The Department was currently working on a draft strategy to increase
R&D investment in
Members noted that intergovernmental
collaborative partnerships were instrumental in ensuring the work done by the
Department and its entities, were used and implemented. Members particularly
singled out the Departments of Higher and Basic Education, and stressed that
the relationship between the Department and the education departments should be
strengthened to address similar issues of concern regarding mathematics and
science at school level. Other matters where members called for joint
initiatives were student drop-out rates, support for Dinaledi schools, low rate
of doctoral student enrolments, curricula research and support, etc.
7.
Conclusions
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 2011/12 financial year, and for spending 99 per cent of its
budget.
The
Committee is confident that the Department is able to correct the challenges
experienced in its final reporting of performance targets.
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.
In some instances the Committee
found that the Parliamentary grants were inadequate to fulfil the total funding
requirements of the entities and it was difficult for them to advance their
mandates fully.
The Committee is, therefore, of the
opinion that the Departments budgetary allocation is not sufficient to completely
fulfil its mandate and provide science and technology with the national status
and priority it needs to provide the technological solutions needed to enhance
the lives of all South Africans.
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 directed by the White Paper on
Science and Technology.
8.
Recommendations
1.
The Committee recommends that the Department should make
concerted efforts to correct the shortcomings of reporting as highlighted by
the Auditor-General.
2.
The Committee advises that the Department should ensure that
systems and proper resources are in place to facilitate that there is complete
information on performance and achievement of targets. A monitoring and
evaluation plan should be in place to detect and address weaknesses on time.
3.
The Department should brief the Committee on its vacant
posts and their overall HR plans. Vacancies should be filled within a
reasonable amount of time and the Committee should be informed of the
challenges experienced in filling the posts.
4.
The Committee recommends that the Department should finalise
the Bio-economy strategy as a matter of urgency. The Committee expects the
Department to provide them with a brief on the completed strategy.
5.
The Committee recommends that the Department should speed up
initiatives to strengthen the governance relationship with their counterparts
specifically in education, health, energy, agriculture and human settlements.
This relationship is crucial to the success of the National System of
Innovation.
Report to be considered.
References
BuaNews (2012) Manuel calls on South
Africans to embrace key drivers. 14 March 2012.
Department of Science and
Technology (2011) Strategic Plan for the Fiscal Years 2011-2016.
Department of Science and
Technology (2012) Annual Report 2011/12.
Department of Science and Technology
(2012) 2011/12 Annual Report Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Science
and Technology. 18 October 2012.
National Treasury (2011)
2011 Adjusted Estimates of National Expenditure.
National Treasury (2011) Monthly
Press Releases, 29 July 2011.
National Treasury (2011) Monthly
Press Releases, 28 October 2011.
National Treasury (2012)
2012 Estimates of National Expenditure.
National Treasury (2012) Monthly
Press Releases, 30 January 2012.
National Treasury (2012) Monthly
Press Releases 30 April 2012.
National Treasury (2012) Monthly
Press Releases 30 July 2012.
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