Address by Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, the honourable Derek Hanekom at the launch of the Fabrication Business Laboraties, National Institute for Higher Education in Galeshewe Campus, Kimberley

Director of Ceremonies
Honourable Premier of the Northern Cape Province, Ms Dipuo Peters
MEC for Tourism, Environment and Economic Development
The Mayor of Galeshewe Local Municipality
Senior officials, educators, learners, parents
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

I know this will sound a little strange to some of you but Kimberley has for some years now been a second home to me, I am simply no visitor to these shores, having elected to do all my political work in this community. Indeed I am pleased to be here to launch this Northern Cape Fablab.

But let me begin with what most of us here would be familiar with. Fablab is an abbreviation for Fabrication Laboratory. It is a group of off-the-shelf, industrial-grade fabrication and electronics tools, wrapped in open source software and programmes. The concept has been pioneered by the formidable Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston and our own Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (AMTS) has entered into a partnership with MIT to establish Fablabs in South Africa.

You can therefore understand our common excitement for launching Fablab today in Galeshewe, in the Northern Cape, having done a considerable amount of work already. Fablabs, as you know, give users the ability to locally conceptualise, design, develop, fabricate and test almost anything. The engineering capability for design and fabrication at micron length and microsecond time scales opens up numerous possibilities for innovative solutions to common problems.

Since local communities themselves foster this innovation, it can lead to sustainable solutions. High-end technological solutions have not been addressing problems faced on the local level as yet and Fablabs will therefore provide a thriving incubator for local micro-businesses.

We can therefore say without any fear of contradiction that the deployment of Fablabs is of immeasurable benefit not only for social development but also to private sector competitiveness and growth. Needless to say that, the next phase of the digital revolution will go beyond the current wave of personal computation to personal fabrication, where Fablabs empower people through personal fabrication. I believe that Fablabs should be seen as a catalyst to create an innovation culture in South Africa.

As a matter of fact, innovation is often borne out of the blending of indigenous knowledge with technological inputs from the developed world; the key here being to facilitate the proper exploitation of the indigenous knowledge through proper infrastructure and processes and to assist South Africa jump an industrial stage and decentralise manufacturing.

Honourable Premier, there are currently only eight countries where Fablabs have been established, ranging from developing nations such as India, Costa Rica and Ghana to developed nations such as Norway, each addressing specific technological challenges and solutions from instrumentation for milk testing and diesel engines right through to alternative energy solutions.

Thus for the purposes of our country and its science and technology priorities, the Fablab programme is positioned as a strategic intervention which provides, among other things:
* appropriate skills development
* infrastructure for entrepreneurs to develop new products that can be tested and modified in the market place according to customer needs
* increased diffusion and adoption of technology
* research and development into new tools for entrepreneurs
* infrastructure to produce small batches of niche products.

We have sound reason to believe that the benefits of this Fablab to the Northern Cape province would be to:
* create jobs and help poor communities to fight poverty
* build a high value-add manufacturing focus in the localities
* facilitate the convergence of the First and Second Economies in the localities
* develop human resources and build crosscutting skills
* facilitate the development of smart industries by encouraging joint research and community interaction
* develop and support competitive small enterprises
* provide an enabling infrastructure for innovators.

As I have already indicated, the goal of the FabLab is to bring prototyping capabilities to the communities in this province that has been out of reach of conventional technology development and deployment. Fablabs belong to a group of off-the-shelf, industrial-grade fabrication and electronics tools, wrapped in open source software and programmes written by researchers at the Centre for Bits and Atoms.

Currently, as you will see, the Fablabs include a laser cutter that makes 2D and 3D structures, a sign cutter that plots in copper to make antennas and circuits, a high-resolution milling machine that makes circuit boards and precision parts, and a suite of electronic components and programming tools for low-cost, high-speed micro-controllers.

Many of the young visitors to our Fablab in the three provinces of Northern Cape, Free State and North West have already used the fabrication tools to develop many useful products. Products that have been developed include: a community based alarm system to warn neighbours of fellow neighbours in distress, indicating their location to enable ease of access for emergency services and a disposable and affordable thermometer that can be used by anyone at home and disposed of without the hazardous risk associated with mercury based thermometers.

The FabKids and FabTeachers offspring programmes in particular have been piloted and proven to be successful. These programmes use peer-to-peer learning inside the Fablabs to introduce advanced technical empowerment to the Science and Technology community of the future. As we know, the ability to increase future material wealth for all South Africans rests on the shoulders of these young members of our society.

Therefore this launch of the Northern Cape FabLab by the Department of Science and Technology through the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (AMTS) programme represents an accelerated step through which science and technology is utilised to meet the needs of our entrepreneurs. The Fablab will enable them to manufacture goods by investing minimal amounts of capital in designing prototypes needed for mass production, or to produce a specific low volume product.

This is in line with the goals and objectives of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA). Since ASGISA was launched, Government has intensified its funding of and plans to further fund selected programmes that will act as catalysts for economic development. This Fablab represents one such initiative.

I must also mention that the initial spending framework of ASGISA includes six broad categories of Government interventions primarily aimed at promoting the country's capacity to meet its development objectives with respect to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): namely, halving poverty and unemployment by 2014.

Government's investigations, supported by some autonomous research revealed that the rate of growth needed to allow South Africa to achieve our social objectives is around five percent on average between 2004 and 2014. Set out as a two phase undertaking, government is seeking 4,5% average growth between 2005 and 2009 followed by six percent growth for the period between 2010 and 2014.

The launch of these Fablabs across our country therefore puts us firmly on the path to achieving this growth. Department of Science and Technology (DST) has already established five such Fablabs: two in Pretoria, one in Free State, one in North West and one in Cape Town. In addition to the Northern Cape province, additional Fablabs are also planned for Limpopo and Mpumalanga. To accomplish the full impact of this infrastructure, it is important to make communities aware of the support and services available at the Fablabs.

The Fablabs must be implemented to contribute to the Northern Cape province's efforts to create new entrepreneurs and ultimately contribute towards fighting poverty. We thus sincerely thank the National Institute for Higher Education and the Northern Cape Provincial Government for playing a leading role in promoting the Northern Cape Fablab within the local communities.

The opening of this Fablab is humble proof of the Department of Science's undertaking to reduce the technology and innovation isolation that still exists within our communities. We also expect our initial venture to provide a mechanism for further investments in Fablab by the provinces, higher education institutions and business.

Ladies and gentlemen, as Minister of Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena never fails to remind us, South Africa's future and that of the rest of the world, is dependent on a solid science, engineering and technology base for economic and social development. We look forward to getting positive feedback on the many accomplishments that this Fablab will produce in this province.

It has therefore been my single honour to launch the Northern Cape Fabrication Laboratory.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
6 August 2007