Remarks by Minister of Science and Technology, Mosibudi Mangena, at the Siemens Profile Awards, Park Hyatt Hotel, Rosebank

Programme director
Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Southern Africa, Mr Sigi Proebstl
Members of the Board of Directors
Members of the media
Award winners
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

There is no doubt that giving science journalists the recognition they deserve will encourage excellence in reporting, and help to bring science matters from the periphery of the news agenda into the mainstream, which is where they rightfully belong.

Science news should receive better coverage than it does at the moment on our continent. Far too many people think that science is for scientists or exceptionally clever people who wear white coats and spend their time in sterile laboratories, buried in their arcane experiments.

They have not yet fully grasped the reality that science has everything to do with ordinary people like you and me, who are just struggling along, trying to get through the daily grind. We are surrounded by the practical applications of science and technology, many of which make that daily grind a lot easier and pleasanter.

Boiling water for a cup of coffee, driving a car, watching television, drinking a pill for a headache, etc, all these seemingly effortless and ordinary activities we often take for granted, are actually made possible by really complicated scientific processes. Clearly, our lives would all be a lot tougher if it was not for the science that provided many of these benefits we enjoy on a daily basis.

On a much larger scale, ladies and gentlemen, science and technology have the potential to make a strong and positive impact on our continent. Throughout Africa, we need, for example, to find affordable but durable building materials to replace bricks and mortar, increase food security and develop a sustainable supply of affordable, safe and environmentally-friendly forms of energy. Our ability to address these and other challenges is determined by our scientific and technological capabilities.

In this sense, science and technology can and should play a pivotal role in addressing some of the poverty related challenges, increasing economic growth and ensuring the sustainable development of our continent, and improving the life expectancy and quality of the lives of our citizens.

Already, science and technology ministers from all African Union Member States are working together to harness science and technology for Africa's development.
Under the umbrella of the African Ministers Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST), these ministers have set continental priorities and policies that are relevant to the development and application of science and technology for Africa's economic transformation.

In 2005 at the second AMCOST, Africa's Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action, a wide-ranging five-year plan to promote science and technology in Africa was approved. The plan merges the science and technology programmes of the African Union and New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad). The political and policy leadership for the plan's implementation is provided by AMCOST which is a body tasked, among others, to facilitate co-operation among African countries in the use and application of science and technology to attain the Millennium Development Goals.

It is very encouraging that a number of African governments have already begun to take ownership of the process. And because this is an open and transparent process, we would like to see the media, as key players in a democratic civil society, doing more to bridge the gap between science, scientists, policy makers and the people of our country.

Africa's stories and achievements in science and technology have never been given the publicity they deserve. The continent needs journalists like you to do its marketing and advocacy work, not only in the political arena, but even more importantly, in promoting its science and technology agenda. Although we have not yet seen the media working with us to the required extent in the sharing of science information, we trust that an event like this will put the spotlight on the need for science writers and editors in all newsrooms to play their role more aggressively in this regard.

In a recent study of 15 South African publications by Stellenbosch University, it was found that on average, less than 2 percent of editorial space deals with science. A large percentage of published reports (about 38 percent), originate from news agencies, while in-depth articles are few and far between, and almost three quarters of published material appears as brief reports or snippets. We should all be concerned about these findings as they mean that the public is not being kept abreast of what is happening in the world of science and technology.

The Stellenbosch study also argues that the availability of information on the positive and negative impact of the developments in science and technology is paramount to the effective functioning of a democracy. Some might consider this an outrageous statement, but bear in mind that information and education enable people to make informed choices, and expect well-informed decisions from decision makers. Good journalism asks probing and tough questions from governments and scientists on behalf of the public.

With regards to the performance of my department, for example, South Africans have the right to know how much money we are investing in science, what research we are investing in and why and, how this research will ultimately affect their lives. I believe it is also the role of the fourth estate to find the answers to these questions for them.

A matter of grave concern to the national system of innovation is the scarcity of science journalists. Many journalists do attend our events and conduct the necessary interviews but fail to follow-through with relevant and interesting stories in the media.

As much as we are agonising to find innovative ways of making mathematics and science interesting and fun to the learners in our schools, we are equally concerned that the South African public is adequately lobbied and informed about the value of science and technology in society. In order to achieve these objectives, we need to recruit many more journalists to report on science and technology stories.

There are many new discoveries in fields such as biotechnology, astronomy, indigenous knowledge, medicine, psychology, etc, that our citizens need to know about. It has, therefore, become imperative that we engage with media houses to find ways of increasing the number and quality of science journalists in our country.

That, ladies and gentlemen, brings me back to why we are here tonight. We are here to honour and reward the work of an array of dedicated journalists who have excelled - and continue to excel - in the field of science reporting.

We truly appreciate the sponsorship by Siemens Southern Africa for the Africa-wide Profile Awards. While we commend and congratulate the winners, we also thank all the science journalists who work tirelessly to demystify science and technology for our people, and continue to put science on the news and media agenda.

May your efforts to influence the public discourse in science and technology grow from strength to strength.

Congratulations, and thank you for your attention.

Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
28 February 2008