Issued by: Ministry of Arts, Culture, Science & Technology
25 May 2001
I find the budget speech preparation process is very effective, every year, in helping me to take stock of the progress we have made as a Ministry and the challenges that still lie ahead. I believe that this year we have begun to see something of a breakthrough in the work of the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. Allow me to explain.
When I took up the position of Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology in 1994 a great deal of my time and energy was spent in trying to persuade South Africans and many of my colleagues in Government of the importance of the arts and culture in the economy, nation building and the imaging of South Africa. I spent almost as much time making the case for research and development and technology transfer as key levers of economic development.
Much of our time was spent on proving that the cultural industries are an important economic sector with the potential to create jobs and to stimulate rural economies; that science and technology are vital components of ensuring global competitiveness and improving the quality of life of all South Africans; that our culture and our heritage are the key to unleashing our imaginations and our creative potential. Much of our work over the last 5 years has been in integrating culture and science into the core economic and social development programmes of national government.
I believe that there has been a breakthrough in the national acceptance of the importance of the arts, culture, science and technology as central to achieving the economic and social development imperatives of this government.
In January this year, the cultural industries were included as one of the key growth sectors within Cabinet's Economic and Employment Cluster. Technology, along with infrastructure and human resource development, was declared as one of the three key crosscutting imperatives for economic development. By the end of June, we will have developed a National Strategy on Biotechnology as a result of a direct mandate from Cabinet. South African music, film, theatre and visual arts are being used (with great success) to show case and promote our country in Britain this month as part of the Celebrate South Africa programme. In these, and a number of other ways, technology, science, culture and the arts have finally been placed firmly on the national agenda as having a central role to play in achieving our core national objectives.
I will now dwell on some highlights, beginning with science and technology.
The role of science and technology in contributing to national growth is now broadly accepted. Science and technology are now recognised as major contributors to industrial productivity, economic growth, environmental sustainability and international competitiveness.
The role of science and technology in South Africa has become increasingly important over the last decade. Globalisation is a reality that brings with it a number of significant challenges for developing nations. The full benefits of global scientific advances over 200 years of scientific progress and industrial growth are enjoyed by possibly no more than one fifth of the world's population. As markets are increasingly globalised, the barriers to entering certain technological areas and becoming globally competitive are growing.
As we have seen with the recent legal wranglings with multinational pharmaceutical companies, access to biotechnology, in particular, is a major international issue that is redefining power relations between the North and South. It is widely accepted that successful nations will increasingly be those with high levels of technological innovation.
As members of Parliament will be aware, the National Research and Technology Foresight (NRTF) Study, launched in March last year, provided a structured opportunity to look ahead and consider the role that may be required of science and technology in the future of our economy. Since the launch of the Foresight Study, we have been involved in a drive to develop a "technology foresight" culture within the country.
The Foresight study provided South Africa with glimpses of what technological futures will exist and what can be expected in terms of emerging technologies over the next 10 to 20 year period in the twelve sectors covered by the study. These openings into the future now require a detailed mapping out of the landscape, through a structured and planned exercise, the output of which will be a set of technology roadmaps.
Technology Roadmaps will be developed in the following three sectors, which have been identified by the Foresight study as having the highest potential for economic growth and development:
In all three of these sectors we will be looking at what technological resources need to be developed in order to maximise current and future market opportunities. The purpose of the exercise is strategically to position South Africa in the technology driven global economy. It is expected that all Technology Roadmaps will have been finalised by the end of this year.
The application of biotechnology has enjoyed significant influence in the transformation of the agricultural, health and other sectors, globally as well as in South Africa. People around the world continue to benefit from the way in which biotechnology has transformed and advanced these sectors. As a government, we need to manage the development of biotechnology to ensure that any risks are minimised and that positive socio-economic impacts are maximised. To this end, we are engaged in the development of a national biotechnology strategy. The strategic study will outline current biotechnology trends in South Africa and map the way forward with respect to legislation, practices, research and technology development and utilisation, funding sources to promote biotechnology research and development, private sector and state support to sector growth and skills development. In addition, the study will highlight areas of uncertainty, knowledge gaps, and varying perspectives about the impact, effects of and benefits from biotechnology developments and applications. Based on this information, a national strategy on biotechnology will be developed.
The second key area of focus for us is information technology. A number of government departments are focussing on this important area, including the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Communications and the Department of Public Service and Administration. Two things have become clear with regard to government's approach to Information Technology.
Firstly, there is a need for a vast increase in the amount of research and development being conducted in this sector. A recent study completed by my Department shows that total expenditure on research and development in South Africa is only about 0,7% of gross domestic produce, which is between a half and a quarter of what it should be. Of this, some studies estimate, less than 5% goes into information and communication technology research. Clearly, there is room for improvement. We will continue to engage with the National Treasury to find ways of allocating more government funds for IT research and research in general. In addition, IT research is high on our list of priorities for collaborative research with international partners. The second issue is the need for increased co-ordination between the various government departments dealing with IT, so as to minimise duplication and increase efficiency.
We believe it is part of our responsibility to co-ordinate the various government IT initiatives and to maintain a national overview with regard to progress made in the development of the IT sector. We will be attending to this in the months to come. In the important area of technology diffusion, the Technology Stations Pilot Programme was launched by DACST with a long-term vision of setting up technology stations in technikons, which will function as self-sustainable entities that can provide technology solutions to SMMEs. It is hoped that the development of these technology stations will encourage a culture of innovation amongst small businesses that will, in turn, improve product development and manufacturing productivity.
Technology Stations have already been set up at four technikons and there are plans to expand the programme. Under the leadership of the National Research Foundation the construction of the Southern African Large Telescope, known as SALT, at Sutherland is well underway, with funding from a range of international partners now secure. We have identified astronomy and space science as key opportunities for South African basic science. To this end, we have accepted the donation of a R50 million Satellite Laser Ranging System from NASA and we are consolidating the Magnetic Observatory at Hermanus into our system of national facilities. The High Energy Stereoscopic System, a gamma ray observatory being constructed in Namibia with German, South African and French expertise demonstrates our commitment to promoting leading edge scientific development across the region. Another key facility which has come on line since my last budget speech is the National Laser Centre. The NLC is a classic success story of transforming a competence developed previously in the nuclear energy field into one that now serves high tech industry. I would like to take this opportunity to wish the new Director of the NLC, Dr Philemon Mjwara, the best of luck. Late last year a hitherto unknown population of coelacanths was discovered off Sodwana Bay. We are currently setting up a project under the National Research Foundation to investigate this significant discovery further. New techniques of gene sequencing make the study of this living fossil even more fascinating. The key question here is how the genetic makeup of this fish remained so stable over hundred of millions of years.
I would now like to move on to the arts and culture part of my portfolio.
Cabinet's Economic and Employment Cluster Lekgotla took place in January this year. At this Lekgotla a number of priority areas were mapped out for maximising the capacity of the cultural industries to contribute to economic development and employment. This is really the culmination of the recommendations made in the Cultural Industries Growth Strategy that was initiated by my Department in 1997. My colleague, Deputy Minister Brigette Mabandla, will provide you with specific details on this.
We are now paying serious attention to the major challenges relating to the archives and records function. An efficient archival service, operating at both national and provincial levels, is one of the most important systems available for addressing issues of good governance and public accountability, and for identifying and preserving the resources necessary for correcting the distortions and imbalances in the way in which the history of our country has been presented in the past. To this end, we have successfully completed a pilot Oral History Project that was linked to the development of the Women's Monument at the Union Buildings. A full-scale national oral history project is now being developed.
One of the biggest challenges is the need to fulfil the constitutional mandate to devolve certain archival functions to the provinces. Progress has been made in this area, but there are a number of challenges facing us. In a number of the provinces, for instance, there are no institutions to which we can devolve this function. .
In order to keep up with the rapidly changing technological environment, the National Archives has produced a set of guidelines for the management of electronic records in government agencies. The Archives are working very closely with the State Information Technology Agency (SITA). The National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System (NAAIRS) includes a new website through which academic researchers, school children and interested persons from whatever background can obtain guidance on the availability of archival information. This is a big step forward in our policy of taking archives to the people.
Language impacts profoundly on all aspects of national life in South Africa, as well as on the ability of government to provide equitable access to services and programmes. The draft Language Policy and Plan for South Africa, which is the product of a protracted consultative process with government departments, civil society and other role-players is currently being finalised. The language policy is intended as an enabling framework for promoting South Africa's linguistic diversity. The purpose of this policy is to set out a coherent language policy and implementation plan for a multilingual dispensation within the parameters of the Constitution and in concert with broad social planning and transformation in South Africa. The Language Plan will develop and promote the official African languages.
I have described the impact of our programmes in relevant sectors in South Africa in some detail. Our external programmes are, in many ways, complemented by our internal focus on transforming the Department. I believe we have made great strides in this respect. Currently 67% of the Department's top management is made up of black managers. 33% of top management are black women. Of our total staff complement below the levels of top management, 59% are black. We believe that this greater representivity in the make-up of our Department, is a central factor in the progress we have made over the last few years.
In conclusion, Madame Speaker, I would like to reiterate my statement that we are seeing a breakthrough in the use of science, technology, arts and culture as tools in achieving our national objectives. I hope that my colleagues in other government departments will continue to work with us in ensuring that we maximise the potential of these important sectors.