The total appropriation for Science and Technology for 2013/14 is R6,2 billion. About 92% of this allocation is accounted for by the seven entities reporting to the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The rest is for the operational functions of the DST.
The budget allocations to the DST entities are as follow:
- R781 996 000 to the Council for Scientific and Industrial (CSIR).
- R1 112 879 000 to the National Research Foundation.
- R223 630 000 to the Human Sciences Research Council.
- R35 237 000 to the Africa Institute of South Africa.
- R20 744 000 to the Academy of Science of South Africa.
- R111 708 000 to the South African National Space Agency.
- R481 081 000 to the Technology Innovation Agency.
During his Budget Vote address, the Minister reflected on the progress of various flagship programmes of the Department and made input on the department’s strategic focus for the coming year. He also narrated on how the DST was aligning and positioning its activities in an effort to strengthen the objectives of the National Development Plan.
Highlights of the Budget Vote covered the following:
The Ministerial Review
A ministerial review committee appointed by the former Minister of Science and Technology submitted a comprehensive report on the National System of Innovation last year. In an effort to implement some of the report's recommendations, the department has taken the following steps:
- R500 million has been secured from the Economic Competitiveness Fund to strengthen research and innovation partnerships within industry.
- An international expert committee has been appointed to develop a governance, management and operational framework for a national integrated cyberinfrastructure system.
- The first multi-stakeholder science, technology and innovation summit will be held in July 2013. This is as an important step in enhancing coordination between government and the private sector.
Cabinet recently approved the Information and Communication Technology Research, Development and Innovation (ICT RDI) Roadmap, a plan to guide investment made by the Department, other government departments and industry. It will drive the strengthening of the ICT RDI ecosystem, including the formation of strategic relationships.
The department will be investing substantial amounts to support areas of science and technology that are still in a developmental stage, including the following:
Square Kilometre Array (SKA)
The detailed design and pre-construction phase of the SKA project starts this year. The construction of the 64-dish MeerKAT has begun, and will be completed by 2016. On its own, the MeerKAT will be the largest radio telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. The SKA, when its 3 000 dishes have been completed, will be the largest and most sensitive radio telescope in the world by far. Almost R2 billion has been given to the SKA project over the MTEF period and, since this is a global project, South Africa's investment will leverage significant international resources.
World-class science is already emanating from our KAT-7 precursor instrument. Local and international astronomers have used the instrument to observe repeating radio outbursts from a neutron star system known as Circinus X-1. Their results have just been accepted this week for publication in a prestigious journal of the Royal Astronomy Society.
Ketlaphela
In 2012, Cabinet approved the establishment of Ketlaphela, a fully backward-integrated pharmaceutical company aimed at the local manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for antiretrovirals (ARVs). The project is in line with the plans of the South African government to address HIV and Aids with a domestic solution. Ketlaphela will initially target South Africa's burden of disease (starting with HIV and AIDS, followed later by other communicable and non-communicable diseases) and subsequently expand into the rest of Southern Africa. It is anticipated that the multi-billion rand ARV project, expected to be based in Pelindaba, will create a more than 1 600 jobs and reduce the country's R15 billion pharmaceutical trade deficit by 10%. A request for information from potential technology partners and investors will be available before the end of the month.
Space science
As part of the four-country African Resource Management Constellation, South Africa has begun work on the ZA-ARMC1 satellite, for which R272 million has been set aside this year. This satellite will greatly enhance Africa's ability to monitor and manage its precious natural resources. The process of transferring the capabilities and intellectual property of SunSpace into an ongoing satellite programme is continuing through the services of a business rescue plan.
Indigenous knowledge systems
Next week, the department will launch the National Indigenous Knowledge Recordal System and the Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Bioprospecting and Product Development Consortium. Together, these interventions will considerably strengthen the country's ability to use indigenous knowledge to develop products and services. The National Recordal System is the first ever Internet-based national digital system to document indigenous knowledge. It was developed by the CSIR, informed by data from the World Intellectual Property Organisation and India's Traditional Knowledge Digital Library. R22m was invested in its development.
The IKS Bioprospecting and Product Development Consortium brings science councils, universities, the private sector, and traditional knowledge holders and practitioners together in a formal consortium for the development of African traditional medicines, cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals. Cosmeceutical products from the consortium are already under commercialisation.
Bioeconomy Strategy
The Strategy has been finalized and will be presented to Cabinet for approval. The strategy is designed to amalgamate South Africa's experience, expertise and competitive advantages to create a world-class biotechnological system of innovation. Over the MTEF period more than R400 million has been budgeted for the implementation of the strategy.
Human Capital Development
The DST has increased its investments in human capital development over the 2013 MTEF, among other things funding once-off research development grants for qualifying young, black and women researchers, to assist them to become established researchers; research career advancement fellowships offered to senior postdoctoral fellows; and sabbatical grants awarded to fast-track the completion of doctoral degrees by academic staff at universities. An additional R400 million has been allocated in support of our postgraduate bursary programme in the last year of the MTEF. This will assist in increasing both the number and size of our postgraduate bursaries.
A total of 139 research and educational sites have now been connected with high-speed networks through the South African National Research Network (SANReN). This has virtually eliminated the digital divide between urban and remotely located institutions. Through SANReN, rural universities are just as able to participate in global experiments as urban universities. SANReN opens up new possibilities in the way teaching and research are conducted, with the high-speed transport of large datasets, participation in global experiments regardless of physical location, and collaborative online teaching. The investment in SANReN has reduced internet costs for participating institutions by a factor of more than 10. The DST will invest about R600 million in the next five years to more than double the international bandwidth of SANReN.
Titanium initiative
The titanium industry development initiative is progressing according to plan. The DST is investing more than R100 million over the next two years in this key initiative, through the Titanium Centre of Competence hosted by the CSIR. A key activity is the development of a novel low cost process for the production of titanium metal powder, which will provide South Africa with a global competitive advantage. A pilot plant is under construction at the CSIR campus in Pretoria, with a capacity of 2kg per hour of titanium powder. This represents the first upscaling stage of the process and will be officially launched next month.
For more information, please contact:
Nthabi Maoela
Cell: 082 944 0015
Zama Mthethwa
Cell: 082 808 3956
