Hanekom at the 26th Anniversary Function of IST Holdings (Pty) Ltd at St
George's Hotel, Marble Arch Hall in Irene
1 September 2006
Chairperson of the Board
The Chief Executive Officer
Honoured guests
Ladies and gentlemen, good evening
Thank you for inviting me to be present here today to address the staff of
Information Society Technologies (IST) Holdings on its 26th anniversary
function. IST refers to itself as a "diversified engineering technology
solutions business for capital-intensive industries", whose people are its
foundation. Founded in 1980, IST has indeed developed into a diversified
business with experience in areas ranging from telecommunications to nuclear
energy. The birth year of IST was when apartheid rule was reaching new levels
of desperation, absurdity and viciousness. It was also a key year in my own
political journey, my wife and I joined the underground forces of the ANC in
1980. Of course, 26 years has seen many positive changes in our country and we
all see things much more clearly than we did then.
Going back a bit further in history, the year of the 1976 uprisings was also
the year that Eskom (then ESCOM) began construction of two Pressurised Water
Reactors ordered from France that we know today as Koeberg. In 1977 South
Africa was expelled from the annual General Conference of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and just five years later Umkhonto we Sizwe
attacked Koeberg with SAM 7 missiles, causing extensive damage. These were the
so-called "total onslaught" years.
The history of IST cannot be seen in isolation of these events. In fact, it
was the opportunity created by the increasing isolation of the country that
gave rise to the birth of IST. Ambrose Bierce created a satirical dictionary in
1906 called the Devil's Dictionary. Bierce's nickname was "Bitter Bierce"
because of his sardonic cutting work as a critic. This is his definition of
history, "An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are
brought about by rulers mostly knaves and soldiers mostly fools."
I prefer the view of Maya Angelou the American activist, poet and
playwright: "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if
faced with courage, need not be lived again." This idea of history says that
history should teach us how to live now and how to craft our future.
The history of IST shows that the core of the staff that established IST
came from Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (Necsa) (then the Atomic
Energy Corporation) on the discontinuation of some of its development work.
Fortunately those high-level skills were not left to waste, but formed a basis
for a top quality global scale capital intensive engineering company that has
grown to perform its own research and development, leading to the generation of
unique Intellectual Property (IP).
I am sure this audience does not need to be convinced that the application
of science is one of the most effective vehicles in the drive toward the
reduction of poverty in society. The overall economic and social development of
South Africa is being accelerated through the adaptation, assimilation and
invention of new technologies. In keeping with government policy, our economy
is steadily shifting from its resource-dependence towards a competitive
knowledge-based economy. Resource-based economies depend on declining stocks of
non-renewable assets, imported technology and over-exposure to volatile world
markets.
The emerging knowledge economy is the basis for competitiveness and economic
growth in a globalising world. IST is deeply embedded in this emerging
knowledge economy. The development of excellence in science, engineering and
technology; investment in human capital and the development of intellectual
property (IP) are amongst the most important cornerstones of a successful
knowledge-base economy. In order to ensure the success of our economy, we need
to invest in and build on our capacities in these critical areas.
Our solutions will not be of lasting value if we do not make it attractive
for high performing knowledge workers to stay and work in South Africa.
Protecting the intellectual property (IP) that emanates from these creative
people is also critical. The resultant IP portfolio will allow us to bargain
for applicable solutions that were developed in other parts of the world.
I would extend this approach to include the retention of equity control. The
South Korean motor industry has a very similar history to that of South Africa
in the way productive capacity developed and how global companies transferred
knowledge to both nations. The key difference was that the Korean manufacturers
retained control of these companies.
IST is a South African company that can rightfully claim that it is
contributing to our goal of creating a knowledge economy. Your contribution in
the development of the main support systems for the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor
(PBMR) is based on your vision relating to the importance of these skills and
equally government's commitment to a peaceful, modern nuclear policy. You have
also successfully tendered for the prototype antenna that forms part of the
country's Square Kilometre Array (SKA) technology demonstrator. This is good
for South Africa and cannot go unmentioned.
Programmes of this nature inevitably stretch the innovative capabilities of
the technical teams involved. They establish new intellectual property and
improve the quality of human capital that ultimately contributes to the
improvement of the quality of life of all South Africans. The work that the IST
is doing also contributes toward the realisation of new and environmentally
friendly ways of generating energy, moving us away from the current
unacceptably high level of emissions of greenhouse gases. This will advance our
status as an environmentally responsible country.
The private sector is the dominant performer of research and development in
our country and provides the heartbeat of innovation. It is the knowledge
economy that brings hope of sustainable solutions that offer the best escape
route from poverty and marginalisation. I have no doubt that in this room alone
there are dozens of new and creative ideas that could assist in stimulating
local economic activity and removing obstacles to foreign investment. It is
important for us to acknowledge that business, in conducting its core
activities effectively, is far more likely to make a long-term and sustainable
impact on a country than through corporate social investment programmes.
We in the Department of Science and Technology are encouraged that a high
technology company like IST is based in South Africa and is owned by South
Africans. As they say, local is lekker! And we would prefer the situation to
remain that way, so that it can serve as a springboard toward the pursuit of
the knowledge economy without loss of control and the dilution of the evident
leadership that has created this national asset. Possessing the type of IST
expertise locally advances South Africa in addressing its socio-economic
challenges. We must take responsibility for our own future and positively
influence the future of our continent, in keeping with the NEPAD
objectives.
The collapse of the Doha round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks
leads us to be extremely careful in the management of our strategic resources.
The threat by the United States of America to withdraw long-established trade
benefits under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for advanced
developing countries such as South Africa is a case in point. The GSP review is
linked, we believe, to developed economies wanting to retain the present
asymmetry of trade flows and the associated reluctance to open their markets to
more foreign goods. In advocating for a fairer international trading system we
are also seeking to create opportunities for our firms to find global business
and to grow their impact in this way.
I am sure you have heard of "orphan diseases"âa term often used in the
context of healthcare on the global scale. Some diseases are seemingly not
sufficiently recognised to attract global attention and donor funds. Should we
not have a concept such as "orphan capital-intensive technology"? I am
referring to technologies that will address the capital-intensive challenges
that are facing developing countries that might not be of interest to the big
multinationals.
What intrigues me is the role that the competencies of IST played in the
decisions by South Africa to invest in projects such as the Pebble Bed Modular
Reactor (PBMR) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). I have been told that some
of the development work that is now contributing to the PBMR was carried out at
your own risk and cost with virtually no prospect of commercial viability in
the short term. That is the kind of risk-taking that we would like to
encourage, we appreciate and cherish enterprises with the commitment and
flexibility of IST.
Finally, I would like to emphasise the commitment of DST to continue using,
and even increasing the involvement of hi-tech South African companies such as
IST, to ensure the long-term stability and wealth of South Africa and its
people. Let us work together and strengthen partnerships so that our national
knowledge base grows, and that we find our place amongst the more successful
economies of the world. We can do it.
To the next 26 years!
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
1 September 2006
Source: Department of Science and Technology (http://www.dst.gov.za)
