Chairperson, hon Minister of Science and Technology, hon Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, hon Deputy Minister Mahlangu- Nkabinde, hon Minister Patel, any Ministers I might have overlooked, all protocol observed, hon Members of Parliament, the leaders of science councils and their delegations, the Director-General of Science and Technology, Dr Mjwara, and his delegation, sons of the soil, flowers of the nation, people of integrity.
On 10 March 2010 a delegation from the Department of Science and Technology led by the Acting Director-General of International Co-operation and Resources, Dr Auf der Heyde, acting on behalf of the Director-General Dr Mjwara, appeared before our portfolio committee to present the department's corporate strategy, representing strategic performance plans for 2010 to 2013.
Part of the oversight task of the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology is to specifically evaluate elements of the strategic and annual performance plans as presented by the department. Among elements to be evaluated, the portfolio committee has to consider whether: the vision refers to the desired outcomes; the mission clearly state the department's core services and delivery priorities; the mission describes how the department is organised to deliver these services; the mission statement includes a statement relating to the quality of service delivery; there are clear guidelines for how individuals in the department should treat one another and the community.
It is needless to reinvent the entire checklist for evaluation, such as situational analysis, strategic goals and objectives, measurable objectives, performance measures and targets, etc, Due to time constraints, It is probably sufficient at this juncture to summarise the overall evaluation as expected of the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology. Firstly, whether there is a clear link between the strategic performance plan and the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, as well as the existence of budget lines reflecting the actual delivery targets in the strategic performance plan; secondly, whether there are clear links between the annual performance plans and the budget for the year; and thirdly, whether the strategic plans and annual performance plan targets are costed properly and accurately in the time budget.
There are many such things that you have to look into when you analyse the budget. I will not go into the detail of analysing what is supposed to be done, but that is what our committee has done.
In response to the above-mentioned requirements, the portfolio committee was satisfied that the corporate strategy seemed to align with the Medium- Term Strategic Framework, MTSF, the 10-year innovation plan of 2007, as well as with the National Research and Development Strategy of the ANC-led Cabinet of 2002. The vision and mission statements were also found to be in line with the expected delivery targets of the department.
Following this evaluation, our portfolio committee was unanimous in accepting the department's plans, except for one area where the portfolio committee felt that very little co-ordination seemed visible. This was as far as the indigenous knowledge systems strategy was concerned. Many well- informed and interested groupings are working in silos in this area. For this reason the portfolio committee will be working hard to co-ordinate a kind of a national workshop on indigenous knowledge systems, IKS, to effect a productive outcome in this unco-ordinated but highly strategic effort. In fact, nationally we have the National Indigenous Knowledge Systems Office, Nikso, under the Department of Science and Technology. On the continent we have the African Indigenous Knowledge Systems Office, which is planning to host the African Indigenous Knowledge Systems Conference at the Park Hyatt in Rosebank in Johannesburg from 2 to 3 June.
There is another working group at the University of the Western Cape, known as the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Project Team, led by Prof Meshach Ogunniyi from the Department of Science and Mathematics Education, which has great interest in the indigenous knowledge systems. Another grouping is working from North West University, while yet another, focusing on medicinal indigenous knowledge systems, is located at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Faculty of Medicine. It is led by Prof Gqaleni, who is also the dean of the faculty there.
Indigenous knowledge systems play a significant role in advancing scientific research in the African context, especially for our SADC region of countries; in the promotion and strengthening of African humanity, ubuntu, as a vehicle for moral regeneration; in the promotion and enhancement of African indigenous games; in the promotion and protection of cultural and linguistic diversity; in addressing climate change adaptation; in the promotion of rural development; in the promotion and commercialisation of indigenous food products at global level, etc. Another of the many challenges facing the department is the development of human capital in science and technology, with particular emphasis on youth development. Of course, this can only be realised if there is a change in the way we do things. The lack of technical resources and of technology and innovation management skills in the majority of public schools, at basic education level up to high school level, suggests that we still have a long way to go to get to the level that the Asian Tiger economies have attained.
Our answer to this challenge is to start doing unusual things, such as implementing one of our Polokwane policy recommendations relating to the establishment of the Innovation Management Framework. The framework's main component for success is the proper analysis of population numbers and the growth rate, coupled with the number of pupils finishing high school and entering tertiary levels of education, and those finishing their junior degrees and moving into the economy and into research.
It should not be forgotten that the bulk of our population, especially from historically disadvantaged communities, are in professions that are no more than accidents of history, stemming from the legacy of apartheid. Many people had no access to career guidance as a preparatory tool and now they are what they are, not because it was planned either by state institutions or their parents, but just because it happened to be like that; an accident of history. It is important for an organised society to provide organised information so that career decisions are made based on career guidance. Thanks to our ANC-led government, it is now a mandatory requirement for any pupil at Grade 10 level to be given career guidance, although this is still a slippery path with various challenges. One important redress made by the Department of Science and Technology to the above-mentioned challenges was the PhD project.
Last week, on Thursday, I was invited by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology to give the keynote address at the graduation of students in the Faculty of Applied Sciences. One of the points I raised as encouragement to the graduates - and this was well received by the leadership of the university - was the department's PhD project initiative and the financial incentives associated with it. These incentives are meant to help those students from disadvantaged backgrounds to have some means of supporting their families while they pursue their research. This is a very important and strategic contribution by the department to support research, particularly for those from historically disadvantaged communities. [Applause.]
Of course, the co-ordination of this effort lies with the Departments of Higher Education and Training and of Basic Education. So, the department alone cannot make this project succeed. It needs the support of the departments that are directly involved in education.
With regard to science and technology in a global context, at the core of the concept of globalisation lies the reality of the unrestricted flow of capital across markets and national borders.
In the African context, and in line with the philosophy of the African renaissance, our challenge is to lead the African continent into becoming an economically competitive regional force. We would do so by using our better developed science and technology infrastructure to provide essential services ranging from electricity, agriculture, communications, education and other products of the human mind.
Science and technology is indeed a crucial instrument in all forms of human endeavour in this regard. As the ANC-led government it is part of our accepted international obligations to advocate the eradication of global poverty and the marginalisation of developing countries. These countries form two-thirds of the world community, yet they are condemned to backwardness, superstition and disease by the so-called modern society. Therefore the nomination of our department, on behalf of the ANC-led government, to lead the science and technology wing of the Non-Aligned Movement could not have come at a better time for this goal to be achieved by South Africa. I thought this would be applauded. [Applause.] You don't appreciate our department's leading role in science and technology in the Non-Aligned Movement?
Our government has provided superior leadership in the procedures of the New Partnership for Africa's Development, Nepad, and the African Union, AU. Similarly, we hope this new role in the Non-Aligned Movement will also advance positive development in our region and, indeed, on our continent.
Scarce skills and technologies are one of the most important issues which we have to pay attention to. As the Minister has already mentioned, nanotechnology is an important new scientific discipline, which addresses the way we live at the molecular level. We have nanomachines, which are at our level if you want to develop them into what can be useful, and replicators, which are used when you are presenting the crystals of nanomachines into three-dimensional levels of operation. Nanotechnology is going to be a very important discipline in the future and it is important that the department has already developed programmes in this field. We commend the department for this initiative.
The other important technology is fuel cell technology. It depends mostly on platinum as a catalyst to work and it is an important future energy alternative for industrialised countries. We are the second biggest, if not the biggest, exporter of platinum in the world. Therefore, if this technology succeeds, we would stand a better chance in good markets.
With regard to space science, as the Minister was saying, we have the Square Kilometre Array, based on radio astronomy. Radio astronomy is another of the important disciplines that our children and our human resource capital investment should focus on. We have the Sumbandila satellite that was launched. We need people to manage that satellite and to keep improving it.
The President was recently in Brazil, where they struck a deal on a joint venture in satellite development. Therefore, astrophysics, radio astronomy and optical astronomy are indeed very important when we consider the development of the human capital of our children in the field of science and technology.
Regarding nuclear science and engineering, very important systems are being developed based on what is known as "accelerator-driven systems". These are systems that would be addressing the problems of nuclear waste, which is at the heart of an international challenge. Basically, very heavy nuclide oxides would be changed into fashionable material and made to be short- lived rather than long-lived. Thank you very much. [Time expired.] [Applause.]