Chairperson, first allow me to greet the hon Minister and congratulate her on her new appointment in the environment of technology. I would also like to do the same with the Deputy Minister, because coming back here is not automatic and he should, therefore, also be congratulated. His Excellency the Director-General and his delegation, leaders of the science councils and the department entities, hon Members of Parliament, welcome to the debate on Budget Vote 31: Science and Technology.
The pursuit of the goals of freedom from want, hunger, deprivation, ignorance, suppression of human talents, fear and intimidation is fundamental to the guarantee of human rights and dignity as set out in our Constitution, the most progressive constitution in the world. Following from the afore-mentioned statement, the potential role of science and technology in the pursuit of freedom in the world is unquestionable.
It follows from this potential role in the national economy that in 2004 the Department of Science and Technology was separated from the then Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, which was located in the social services cluster, eventually to be moved to the economics cluster.
The principal goals of the Department of Science and Technology are to develop the innovation capacity, as the Minister has just said, of the sciences and contribute to socioeconomic development, in accordance with the ANC government's priorities as set out in its election manifesto in the following categories: A budget that ensures economic growth; investment in the productive capacity of the state; tackling poverty and unemployment as a priority; creating sustainable jobs; investment in human capacity, especially skills; expanding the social security net; improving the effectiveness of the state; combating crime; and, finally, promotion of a service-oriented public administration.
This year's budget has been critical for the ANC, coming out of a very successful 52nd national conference with resolutions that reflect continuity and change. The ANC has started the next five-year programme and the task that faces the ANC currently is how, practically, the Polokwane resolutions will be assigned to the task and responsibilities of government and legislatures respectively. In this regard, the Budget must speak to these priorities in a practical and demonstrable fashion. Interestingly, the 2009 Budget continues to reflect the policy priorities emerging from the 2004 ANC election manifesto with, of course, greater emphasis on the 52nd national conference resolutions this time round. This consistency in ANC policy development trends only confirms that ANC rule in South Africa will only be given a break when the Almighty Lord Jesus returns to our world, and this seems to be in the very distant future! [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, there is often confusion to the effect that the development, and the diffusion into the economy, of science and technology is the sole responsibility of the government of the day. On the contrary, the importance of science and technology should be recognised by society as a whole, be it industry, civil society, the education sector, the research community, etc.
A people-orientated approach to the development of science and technology infrastructure is one that is rooted in the following outcomes and values: Firstly, enhancement of the quality of life of all South Africans; secondly, the promotion of competitiveness and the creation of employment; thirdly, the promotion of digital citizens and an information society; fourthly, the promotion of environmentally sustainable surroundings and biodiversity; fifthly, the development of human resources and talents, especially in the historically disadvantaged communities; sixthly, the generation of marketable products and services to a level that is globally competitive; and lastly, the development of scarce skills technologies so as to enhance the global competitiveness of South Africa in technology, etc.
Working together with the rest of the world in the area of scarce skills technologies - such as cryogenic engineering and vacuum technology, fuel cell technology, nanotechnologies, space science, hydrogen and carbon economy, etc - I think that we can do more than what we are currently doing in our domestic effort. It will probably be useful at this juncture to give a brief overview of what these scarce skills technologies can do to benefit our economy as well as our citizens, with the Department of Science and Technology in the driving seat.
For instance, fuel cell technologies and all space technology that has now been brought down to earth date back to the 1800s, but it was not until the 20th century that it was used successfully to promote electricity and water in space crafts. The German spacecraft mission is testimony to this argument.
Furthermore, fuel cell technology development on an industrial scale basis will certainly benefit South Africa economically, as its successful application depends on platinum as a catalyst and South Africa is one of only two world exporters of platinum metal, if we include Russia.
As for nanotechnology, the same applies. Nanotechnology is an umbrella term that covers many areas of research dealing with objects measured in nanometres. A nanometre is the equivalent of a billionth of a metre - represented in numbers, it is about 0,000 000 0001m, very small, ten to the power of minus 9. [Laughter.]
The goal of nanotechnology is to manufacture goods at molecular level. Our bodies are built out of tissue cells at molecular level and therefore represent the best testimony to the success of nanotechnology in nature. It is therefore envisaged that the benefits of nanotechnology will be that: Famine could be eradicated by machines that fabricate food to feed the hungry; the computer industry could greatly benefit if computer components were shrunk to nanodimensions, since trillions of bytes of information could be stored in a structure the size of a sugar cube; and climate problems could partly be addressed as we begin to send nanorobots, invisible to the human eye, to the skies to mend the ozone layer, which has been damaged by high carbon products that we burn here on earth. Likewise, the medical industry can also benefit greatly, as patients are being made to drink fluid medicines containing nanorobots that have been programmed to attack and destroy viruses and cancer cells that are difficult to access using ordinary conventional drugs because of their very minute dimensions of nanolevels, etc.
Hon Chairperson, human resource development in science and technology is also an area of focus of the Department of Science and Technology, and a very important component linked to the initiative based on innovation in science and education. Education in science and technology can respond to the real needs of our society and the country only when it is practical, relevant and appropriate. Our teaching methodology should emphasise problem solving and decision-making. Curricula should relate to local content, not only by way of development of technical skills, but also by being rooted in the principles based on military philosophy and revolutionary science.
The time has now come in our era of national liberation when we have to start transforming our education system to be compatible with the goals of our national democratic revolution. The time has come for us to start preparing and producing doctors, engineers and scientists who will understand the origins and implications of historical and dialectical materialism; who understand the difference between objective and subjective conditions in addressing the challenges of our society; and who understand where rice or cheese come from.
In a nutshell, we should produce technical specialists and scientists who are a true reflection of the success of the national democratic transformation processes. Such transformation processes in the education of science and technology can only be realised if the Department of Education begins to adopt an approach whereby there is a clear and indivisible interplay and interaction between physics and philosophy, just to put it bluntly, as was done in the former socialist countries, where some of us were trained.
What can science and technology do to alleviate poverty and create decent employment? In the decade of economic growth that preceded the global financial crisis, outstanding achievement was realised in the context of stronger global integration. Millions were lifted out of poverty and many poorer countries registered higher rates of growth and advanced their developmental goals.
On the African continent the fastest growth rates since independence brought the Millennium Development Goals within reach and created real hope for a better future. But these achievements were built upon an unsustainable economic model, a model premised on the view now shown to be erroneous - that unregulated markets are stable and that the high carbon economic model was the answer to globalisation.
In this regard, the ANC has emphasised that transformation of the economy cannot emerge spontaneously from the invisible hand of the market, whilst the International Commission on Climate Change and Energy Security has issued a declaration to the G20 and G13+5 countries, in which the G13 comprises of the G8+G5 countries and the G3 comprises of Australia, Indonesia and South Korea.
I happen to serve on this international commission. The commission has identified four pillars in order to address climate change and energy security. These are: mitigation, adaptation, science and technology, and finance. In his keynote address to the 2nd meeting of the international commission in Rome, Italy, the chairman of the commission, who is also the energy and environmental advisor to President Obama, Senator Edward Markey, stressed that technology will be needed on our way to a low carbon future, adding that the development, improvement and deployment of technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration will be of great importance.
The department, as led by Dr Phil Mjwara, the Director-General, also made a submission last week during our interaction on their strategic plans for the current year, that, in so far as energy security was concerned, the race was already on for a safe, clean, affordable and reliable energy supply. South Africa must meet its medium-term energy supply requirements while innovating for the long term in clean cold technologies, nuclear energy, renewable energy and the promise of the hydrogen economy.
South Africa's geographic position enables our country to play a leading role in climate change science. The president of Globe International, the Hon Stephen Byers, addressing the same G13 forum on climate change ... [Interjections.] ... in Rome, on Friday the 12th, stressed that responses to global environmental challenges cannot be tackled by environmental Ministers acting in isolation, but instead require enlightened policy interventions across the full range of ministerial portfolios.
Supporting the above-mentioned position indirectly, the Director-General of the Department of Science and Technology, Dr Mjwara, during the department's deliberations before the portfolio committee, added that South Africa, as a leading voice amongst the developing countries, should contribute to a greater global understanding of shifting social dynamics and the role of science in sustaining growth and development.
Yet, on the contrary, our House Chairperson of Committees, hon Obed Bapela, does not see any role for science and technology on matters of climate and energy security. [Interjections.] He argues that climate problems fall within the ambit of the energy and environmental portfolios. Hence, my participation in this historic conference in Rome was officially turned down by this hon House Chairperson on more than three occasions despite of my efforts to persuade him, highlighting the importance of South Africa participating at the cost of the overseas funders of the conference.
The International Commission on Climate and Energy Security believes that the development of cleaner technologies and a shift from high carbon economic planning to low carbon economic planning will guarantee the creation of many jobs in the world economy as well as alleviate poverty in poorer countries. This is in line with our Polokwane resolutions on the promotion of renewable energy use as well as energy efficiency.
South Africa's position in the G13 commission is clear, and seems to be accepted so far, and this includes: That developed economies must demonstrate concrete support to developing countries to overcome the barriers in respect of low-cost mitigation options such as energy efficiency and renewable energies; that developed economies must double their support for public climate research and development by 2012, with a fourfold increase by 2020; collaborative research and development with sharing of intellectual property rights by the partner institutions; the readiness to fund the development and demonstration of at least 20 carbon capture storage demo plants and 250 gigawatt capacity of concentrated solar power in developing countries; and the urgent priority to secure the carbon market by sending a clear market signal about the climate regime after 2012. This is our position in the international commission as South Africa, supported by the Department of Environmental Affairs.
In a nutshell, the answer to the recent global financial crunch needs a decisive, well co-ordinated, integrated plan to move the whole world from high carbon economic planning to a small recovery package, based on a low carbon economy and low carbon stimulus.
Hon Chairperson, I will end my speech by quoting Law 29 of what is called The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. This law, 'Plan all the way to the end' says:
The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end, you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead. [Interjections.]
Hon Speaker, we support Budget Vote 31. [Applause.]