Chairperson, Minister and Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology, hon members, distinguished guests and everyone, I greet you all, in Cape Town and in South Africa as a whole, on this day. Today the DST presents its Budget Vote to the House and the nation as a whole. The DST fosters innovation and initiatives that are adapted to health care and poverty alleviation through advancement in science and technology.
The main aim of the DST is to develop, co-ordinate and manage the National System of Innovation, which fosters the full potential of science and technology in social and economic growth through the development of human resources, research and innovation. The DST is set to aid poverty alleviation and nurture a healthy nation, through efforts by agencies like the Human Sciences Research Council, the National Research Foundation, the Technology Innovation Agency, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Africa Institute of SA.
South Africans are currently at a significant set of crossroads because of the great need for health innovation to fight the myriad health challenges in our diverse society. Health needs should be addressed in such a manner that the serious inequalities in our country at large are encompassed and counted. This means that the medication that is developed should be appropriate, accessible and culturally acceptable to the population. This issue needs to take into account various major challenges, such as appropriate health medication, health infrastructure and also appropriate needs-oriented research.
The DST has implemented specific health research initiatives, which include the SA Malaria Initiative, the Medical Device Centre of Competence, the Tuberculosis Research Centre and the SA HIV and Aids Research and Innovation Platform, or Sharp.
The SA Malaria Initiative facilitates an integrated programme of malaria research and the development of capacity-building in South Africa and, eventually, in the rest of Africa. Modern research technologies are being applied to malaria research to develop new tools to improve malaria prevention and control. Outputs will include the identification and validation of new drug targets, improved diagnosis and new tools for gathering epidemiological information.
The Medical Devices Centre of Competence will guide and support innovators of medical devices, particularly with regulatory matters and financial and business management. It catalyses and facilitates collaboration between industry and research institutions. It also facilitates fundraising to enable the commercialisation of products and services to overseas investment projects, to ensure that devices comply with regulatory requirements and also to harvest IP from medical practitioners.
The Tuberculosis Research Centre of Competence has six objectives, which are to co-ordinate TB research projects within the centre's consortium members; to facilitate the transfer of TB research outputs into outcomes of social benefit to South Africa that can be commercialised in the focus-area drugs, vaccines and diagnostics; to develop capital to meet the needs of innovative TB research and development; to enhance collaboration between TB researchers and the private sector; to attract private funding partners to the TB Research Centre; and lastly, to facilitate networking and knowledge sharing within the framework of innovation.
The challenges arising from limitations in human endeavours are issues that can be attributed to poverty and a deformed health system in a nation. That said, the DST's budget trend over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework is based around five programmes, namely administration, research development and innovation, international co-operation and resources, human capital and knowledge systems, and socioeconomic partnerships. The DST has indicated that it will require an allocation of R4,9 billion in the 2012-13 financial year. The ANC supports this Budget Vote. [Applause.]