Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr Buti Manamela,
Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Chairperson of Universities South Africa, Prof Francis Petersen,
CEO of Universities South Africa, Dr Phethiwe Matutu,
Vice-Chancellors of our universities,
Chairpersons and Chief Executive Officers of our national science councils,
Distinguished Guests,
 
It is a great honour to welcome you to the Union Buildings.
 
We have gathered together with the leadership of our universities and our science councils to discuss matters that are vital to the development of our country and the future of our people.
 
I wish to thank the leadership of Universities South Africa for having reached out to the Presidency on some critical issues of concern.
 
I would like to quote what Prof Francis Petersen wrote on behalf of Universities South Africa in a letter to me in August 2026. He said:
 
“Universities have a critical role to play in advancing national development and addressing South Africa’s complex social, economic and developmental challenges by providing knowledge, expertise and independent intellectual capacity that contribute to informed national dialogue and the public interest.”
 
That is the sentiment on which we should anchor this meeting.
 
In the National Development Plan, we set out to eliminate poverty and sharply reduce unemployment and inequality by 2030.
 
Now that we are four years from that date, we need to consider where we stand.
 
Our economy is not growing fast enough to absorb the millions of South Africans who want to work.
 
Our official unemployment rate stands at 33.7 percent.
 
Close to half of young people who are looking for work cannot find it.
 
While the Poverty Trends report from Stats SA showed a significant decline in poverty rates between 2006 and 2023, the reality is that more than 23 million South Africans still live below the lower-bound poverty line.
 
Inequality in South Africa remains among the highest in the world.
 
Behind these statistics are families that are struggling to get by. Young people looking for any opportunity they can find for advancement. 
 
Communities seeking the better life they want, need and deserve.
 
It is in pursuit of these fundamental objectives that this administration is pursuing three overarching strategic priorities:
 
firstly, to drive inclusive growth and job creation;
 
secondly, to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living; and,
 
thirdly, to build a capable, ethical and developmental state.
 
It is our hope that we can use this meeting to discuss how we can more effectively cooperate to advance these priorities and make progress towards the achievement of the NDP goals.
 
The role of a developmental state is to set the direction for the country, to mobilise society behind its priorities and to work with all sections of society to deliver on those priorities.
 
No developmental state has succeeded without strong universities and strong public research institutions.
 
The countries that have most successfully transformed their economies have placed knowledge at the centre of their development.
 
They have linked their universities and colleges to their industries.
 
They have trained engineers, scientists and artisans at scale.
 
They have directed their research and their skills towards solving national problems.
 
South Africa has the capacity to do the same.
 
Throughout the development of the South African economy and our society, our universities and research institutions have provided a valuable foundation for innovation and progress.
 
They have enabled the growth of vital industries and have developed technologies that have improved the lives of millions of people.
 
In several areas, South African institutions have led the world and achieved scientific breakthroughs that have been felt far beyond our shores.
 
Yet, although we have achieved much, there is so much potential that is unrealised.
 
The scale of our ambition is not yet matched by the scale of our investment.
 
It is said that we spend just 0.6 percent of our GDP on research and development, far short of the 1.5 percent we have set as our goal for 2030.
 
Both public and private investment in research have not kept pace with the needs of our economy.
 
Beyond investment, we need structured collaboration between government, public institutions of research and learning, and other social partners.
 
We have therefore asked that our discussion today consider, among other things, building partnerships around key national priorities.
 
We need partnerships towards the achievement of a skills revolution.
 
We need our universities, TVET colleges and Sector Education and Training Authorities to work as one system.
 
A young person must be able to move from school to a college or university to a workplace without falling through the cracks.
 
This means expanding workplace-based learning, so that classroom study and real work experience go hand in hand.
 
It means aligning what we teach with the needs of our economy and our country now and into the future.
 
We need partnerships to achieve water and energy security and to enable an energy transition that is just and inclusive.
 
We need research that helps our municipalities secure reliable water supplies and skills that will power a new energy economy.
 
We need partnerships to develop our sovereign artificial intelligence capabilities.
 
South Africa must be a producer, not merely a consumer, of emerging technologies. 
 
We need our own capability to build, govern and use data in the service of our people.
 
We need partnerships to drive industrialisation and to extract greater economic and social value from our critical minerals.
 
We hold many of the minerals the world needs for a low-carbon future.
 
Our science must help us process them here, create jobs here and build industries here.
 
We need partnerships to build a capable developmental state.
 
We must draw on the expertise that exists in our institutions to support planning, public administration and evidence-based policy making.
 
Asking our universities to serve national development does not mean asking them to surrender their institutional autonomy.
 
Academic freedom and the freedom of scientific research are important conditions for development.
 
Just as institutions funded by the public carry a responsibility to the country.
 
We want a partnership built on trust and cooperation.
 
To ensure the success of that partnership, we need to address the financial sustainability of our institutions and improve the level of both public and private research investment.
 
We must address concerns about governance instability in higher education institutions and closer engagement on important policy developments.
 
We must use public procurement more effectively to make the state a first customer for South African innovation.
 
By the end of this meeting, we hope to have reached concrete commitments to better structure collaboration between government, our universities and our science councils.
 
We need to work together to identify priorities, to plan and fund research and to develop the skills for the economy we are building.
 
Let us ensure that our universities open their doors and their laboratories to address the nation’s most urgent tasks.
 
Let our science councils turn innovation into jobs, industries and better services to the people.
 
We often speak about our abundant natural resources – our minerals, our arable land and our wind and solar power.
 
Yet we do not sufficiently recognise the enormous wealth of knowledge, skills and research capabilities in our country.
 
In our universities and research institutions, we have a firm foundation.
 
In our youthful population, we have immense potential.
 
Our task is to mobilise what we have, appreciate what we can do together and realise the future we want.
 
This meeting represents the start of such an undertaking.
 
Thank you again for your attendance. 
 
We look forward to a constructive and productive discussion.
 
I thank you.

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