Date: 24/11/2005
Source: Ministry of Science and Technology
Title: Mangena: Launch of Western Cape Provincial Advanced Manufacturing Technology
Address by the honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Mosibudi Mangena, at the launch of the Western Cape Provincial Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (PAMTS), at Hotel Le Vendome
Programme Director;
Premier of the Western Cape, Ebrahim Rasool;
MEC for Environment & Economic Development, Ms Tasneem Essop;
CSIR Director of Manufacturing, Dr Maree;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen
This launch of the Western Cape Provincial Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (PAMTS) is a very significant step towards addressing the technological challenges facing our manufacturing sector. A research study conducted by my Department, has revealed that the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the economy of the Western Cape has declined from 21,3% in 1995 to 18,3% in 2001, even though manufacturing has remained the second largest employer in this province.
Human resource development, especially in the science, engineering and technology (SET) skills, remains a challenge throughout South Africa. In order to address these shortcomings successfully, as a country we need to change to a knowledge-based economy.
Our manufacturing sector also faces other challenges such as low levels of investment in research and development (R&D). Very often, the use of outdated equipment compromises efficiency and quality, implying that many of our companies often fail to produce goods and services according to the customer’s quality specifications and within set timeframes, in this way reducing our chances of competing successfully in the global arena.
Ladies and gentlemen, you may recall that in September 2003, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) launched the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (AMTS), which is aimed at:
* Enhancing local innovation;
* Achieving higher levels of technology use in industry;
* Enhancing the knowledge base and knowledge intensity of our manufacturing industry;
* Strengthening current industries and creating new industries, in order to enhance our global competitiveness and support national industry.
One of the main features of the AMTS is its emphasis on enhanced local innovation aimed at building manufacturing competitiveness based on specific geographical advantages and the strengths of our provinces.
We recognise that the AMTS cannot exist on its own. Rather, it should exist in partnership and collaboration with other national government strategies such as the Integrated Manufacturing Strategy (IMS) of the Department of Trade and Industry, as well as provincial growth and development strategies.
It is for this reason that the Department of Science and Technology will continue to partner provinces as is the case with the Western Cape PAMTS today. It is critical that as we rollout the AMTS, we should seek ways and means of increasing integration and collaboration with provincial projects, and encourage integration among role players to build a critical mass necessary to compete in the global arena.
Currently, an active DST/AMTS partnership with the Western Cape government has resulted in this launch of the PAMTS. In addition, active partnership with provincial governments such as Mpumalanga and Gauteng has resulted in a process of crystallising province-specific projects and funding.
The structure of world trade has shifted away from commodity production and simple raw material-intensive manufactured goods, towards increasingly knowledge-intensive goods and services.
Our future competitiveness will depend on the capacity of the manufacturing sector to continuously adapt to changing technologies to innovate, and to meet customer requirements in terms of quality, price, and delivery time. These are all highly knowledge-intensive activities which require increased levels of efficiency and effectiveness, and are heavily influenced by our ability to integrate industry and government interventions.
The National Research and Development Strategy also recognises the reality that local industry is spending too little on Research and Development to develop new products and services that can significantly boost our economic growth. Our current R&D spending stands at 0,81% of GDP, and our short to medium term objective is to boost this to at least 1% by increasing public sector R&D spending through our various Science Councils engaging in public sector R&D.
Research and development should also be able to deliver technologies that are geared towards creating sustainable employment, and solutions to the challenges faced by developing economies. The contribution that innovation can make towards economic growth and competitiveness can never be overemphasised. Innovative economies are net exporters of technologies, goods and services. But to achieve this, it is vital to invest in human capacity development. It is in this regard that government, industry, researchers and academia need to hold hands and work towards a common goal. That is why the provincial chapters of the Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Strategy, constitute such critical pillars for establishing healthy relationships for increased collaboration by all players. This is the recipe that we need to create a viable and sustainable manufacturing sector.
We would like to pay tribute to the team and all role players who contributed to the development of the PAMTS. We also thank Dr Maree of the CSIR and his AMTS team for all their hard work towards making sure that this PAMTS is possible. Ladies and gentlemen, the challenge now is to maintain a sharp focus on the implementation process, by delving deep into the finer details of what needs to be done to ensure that all the ideals expressed in the PAMTS document are put in place as planned, bearing in mind that our objective with this intervention is to increase the competitiveness of our manufacturing sector.
In closing, may I commend the Premier of the Western Cape, Mr Ebrahim Rasool, and the MEC for Environment and Economic Development, Ms Tasneem Essop, for their leadership and support towards making the delivery of the Western Cape Provincial Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Strategy possible. We also rely on the contribution that this project can make to launch our country on a path towards successful industrial development.
I thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Science and Technology
24 November 2005
Source: Ministry of Science and Technology
Title: Mangena: Launch of Western Cape Provincial Advanced Manufacturing Technology
Address by the honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Mosibudi Mangena, at the launch of the Western Cape Provincial Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (PAMTS), at Hotel Le Vendome
Programme Director;
Premier of the Western Cape, Ebrahim Rasool;
MEC for Environment & Economic Development, Ms Tasneem Essop;
CSIR Director of Manufacturing, Dr Maree;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen
This launch of the Western Cape Provincial Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (PAMTS) is a very significant step towards addressing the technological challenges facing our manufacturing sector. A research study conducted by my Department, has revealed that the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the economy of the Western Cape has declined from 21,3% in 1995 to 18,3% in 2001, even though manufacturing has remained the second largest employer in this province.
Human resource development, especially in the science, engineering and technology (SET) skills, remains a challenge throughout South Africa. In order to address these shortcomings successfully, as a country we need to change to a knowledge-based economy.
Our manufacturing sector also faces other challenges such as low levels of investment in research and development (R&D). Very often, the use of outdated equipment compromises efficiency and quality, implying that many of our companies often fail to produce goods and services according to the customer’s quality specifications and within set timeframes, in this way reducing our chances of competing successfully in the global arena.
Ladies and gentlemen, you may recall that in September 2003, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) launched the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (AMTS), which is aimed at:
* Enhancing local innovation;
* Achieving higher levels of technology use in industry;
* Enhancing the knowledge base and knowledge intensity of our manufacturing industry;
* Strengthening current industries and creating new industries, in order to enhance our global competitiveness and support national industry.
One of the main features of the AMTS is its emphasis on enhanced local innovation aimed at building manufacturing competitiveness based on specific geographical advantages and the strengths of our provinces.
We recognise that the AMTS cannot exist on its own. Rather, it should exist in partnership and collaboration with other national government strategies such as the Integrated Manufacturing Strategy (IMS) of the Department of Trade and Industry, as well as provincial growth and development strategies.
It is for this reason that the Department of Science and Technology will continue to partner provinces as is the case with the Western Cape PAMTS today. It is critical that as we rollout the AMTS, we should seek ways and means of increasing integration and collaboration with provincial projects, and encourage integration among role players to build a critical mass necessary to compete in the global arena.
Currently, an active DST/AMTS partnership with the Western Cape government has resulted in this launch of the PAMTS. In addition, active partnership with provincial governments such as Mpumalanga and Gauteng has resulted in a process of crystallising province-specific projects and funding.
The structure of world trade has shifted away from commodity production and simple raw material-intensive manufactured goods, towards increasingly knowledge-intensive goods and services.
Our future competitiveness will depend on the capacity of the manufacturing sector to continuously adapt to changing technologies to innovate, and to meet customer requirements in terms of quality, price, and delivery time. These are all highly knowledge-intensive activities which require increased levels of efficiency and effectiveness, and are heavily influenced by our ability to integrate industry and government interventions.
The National Research and Development Strategy also recognises the reality that local industry is spending too little on Research and Development to develop new products and services that can significantly boost our economic growth. Our current R&D spending stands at 0,81% of GDP, and our short to medium term objective is to boost this to at least 1% by increasing public sector R&D spending through our various Science Councils engaging in public sector R&D.
Research and development should also be able to deliver technologies that are geared towards creating sustainable employment, and solutions to the challenges faced by developing economies. The contribution that innovation can make towards economic growth and competitiveness can never be overemphasised. Innovative economies are net exporters of technologies, goods and services. But to achieve this, it is vital to invest in human capacity development. It is in this regard that government, industry, researchers and academia need to hold hands and work towards a common goal. That is why the provincial chapters of the Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Strategy, constitute such critical pillars for establishing healthy relationships for increased collaboration by all players. This is the recipe that we need to create a viable and sustainable manufacturing sector.
We would like to pay tribute to the team and all role players who contributed to the development of the PAMTS. We also thank Dr Maree of the CSIR and his AMTS team for all their hard work towards making sure that this PAMTS is possible. Ladies and gentlemen, the challenge now is to maintain a sharp focus on the implementation process, by delving deep into the finer details of what needs to be done to ensure that all the ideals expressed in the PAMTS document are put in place as planned, bearing in mind that our objective with this intervention is to increase the competitiveness of our manufacturing sector.
In closing, may I commend the Premier of the Western Cape, Mr Ebrahim Rasool, and the MEC for Environment and Economic Development, Ms Tasneem Essop, for their leadership and support towards making the delivery of the Western Cape Provincial Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Strategy possible. We also rely on the contribution that this project can make to launch our country on a path towards successful industrial development.
I thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Science and Technology
24 November 2005
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