Minister of Science and Technology, Ms Naledi Pandor, gave her Budget Vote Speech on the 22 July 2014

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Chairperson,
Honourable Members,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Today we celebrate twenty years of freedom and positive progress in advancing research and innovation in the science and technology sector. Some of our many successes include advances in research into HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment, satellite building, winning the right to co-host the iconic Square Kilometre Array, discoveries in palaeontology, progress with alternative energy technologies, advances in fluoro chemicals, technology for improved service delivery. Through investing in research and development and innovation the ANC has made significant contribution to meeting our triple challenges of poverty, inequality and joblessness.

The African National Congress (ANC) won the last election on a manifesto that included a commitment to increase investment in research and development to 1.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in this term of government. The ANC was the only party to make such a commitment. This signalled our belief that science and technology will play a prominent role in the radical socio-economic transformation of South Africa.

We are emboldened by the science and technology objectives outlined in the National Development Plan and believe that the report we will present to you today clearly signals that Vision 2030 is achievable.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) ‘s budget appropriation for 2014/15 is R6,47 billion.

The largest portion of the DST’s budget, R3,5 billion, is allocated to research and development. Of this, R1,7 billion is to be spent on research grants and bursaries. And in terms of guidelines I have provided we will focus on the following transformation targets over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period by increasing:

• The ratio of black to total researchers from 28% in 2013/14 to 40% in 2016/17.
• The ratio of female to total researchers from 36% in 2013/14 to 50% in 2016/17.
• The ratio of black to total graduate students funded from 63% in 2013/14 to 71% in 2016/17.
• The ratio of female to total postgraduate students funded from 53% in 2013/14 to 55% in 2016/17.

The National Development Plan sets a target of 100 000 PhDs by 2030 to improve research and innovation capacity. In order to reach this target we need train 6 000 PhDs per annum. We now produce just over 1 800 PhDs per year. To train 6 000 a year will cost an additional R5.8 billion a year.

Currently we lack research-supervision capacity and the doctoral-student pipeline is too narrow. We need to support researchers who are capable of supervising post-graduate students, and to create appropriate incentives for students to remain in the system up to doctoral level. We have recently begun investing in emerging researchers through post-doctoral fellowships in the Thuthuka programme, and research-career-advancement fellowships.

In order to attract young people to science, the DST will invest R497 million over the MTEF period in implementing a coordinated approach to science education, science awareness and science communication The programmes – run through the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) – will reach about 350 000 learners and about 12 500 to 13 000 teachers per annum. The recent review of the NRF indicated the need to reconsider the location and the funding model for SAASTA. We need a model that will allow SAASTA to scale-up public engagement and science awareness activities.

Our internship programme has supported youth development and employment. Between 2012 and 2014, 1 341 unemployed graduates were exposed to work experience in science, engineering and technology institutions. Of these, 58% were absorbed into permanent employment in the same institutions. Others have found employment elsewhere. The DST has allocated R80 million to fund 1 000 science postgraduates in the 2014/15 internship programme.

The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI), one of the DST’s flagship programmes, has a total of 157 awarded chairs, 128 of which have been filled. Of these, 73% were recruited in South Africa, 21% are women and 28% are black. The DST plans to create an additional 20 chairs. The initiative has contributed to the transformation of the system by increasing the number of black and female researchers. Since its inception, the number of black postgraduate students has increased by 400%, and the number of female postgraduate students by 450%. We spend R451 879 on SARCHi this year.

We have established Centres of Excellence to promote inter disciplinary collaboration in research excellence. There are now 14 centres, and investment in them has increased at an average of 20% a year since 2010/11. We are exploring a further three centres – in Aids, human settlements and water research, all in collaboration with other departments.

We have established Centres of Excellence to promote inter disciplinary collaboration in research excellence. For example, the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA) focuses on research in quantitative modelling of disease, with a strong focus on relevance to public health policy. The policy to circumcise men to reduce the HIV infections was a consequence of a SACEMA study/research. Or the Centre of Excellence on TB pioneered the use of molecular methods to characterise M. tuberculosis strains, and these techniques are now used throughout Africa to gain insight into the mechanisms driving the epidemic. There are now 14 centres, and investment in them has increased at an average of 20% a year since 2010/11. We are exploring a further three centres – in Aids, human settlements and water research, all in collaboration with other departments.

To enable South Africa to compete globally, we need to provide world-class infrastructure for research and development. One of these is iThemba LABS. iThemba LABS is the only facility on the African continent that provides accelerator-based radioisotopes for nuclear medicine, and also the only facility in Africa for specialist cancer treatment using protons and neutrons. This treatment is offered to those who have cancers that do not respond to traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Patients referred by state hospitals are treated free of charge, and over the past 25 years some 1 800 patients have been treated.

We continue to make progress on the Meerkat project, for which R647 million is allocated in 2014, as well as building global partnerships for SKA. Preparing for the huge amounts of data produced by the MeerKAT and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is also preparing South Africa to play a leading role in ‘big data’. We believe South Africa can become a global leader in this area if we make the right interventions now.

I am pleased to announce that many students have been awarded grants by the SKA Project. The success rate of the programme has been very high, with 36 doctoral degrees, 95 master’s degrees, 59 honours degrees, 58 BSc and BEng degrees and 16 national diplomas awarded. The SKA is also supporting the training of artisans, and has awarded 42 bursaries to students from the Karoo, 16 of whom are already employed by SKA South Africa.

The global SKA project is growing. India is expected to become a full member of the SKA Organisation soon, joining an alliance of countries that are currently investing close to R2 billion in design and other preparatory work. Our partners in Australia, Canada, China, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom are all firmly committed to the SKA. Compared to other large-scale research infrastructure projects of its kind, the progress of the SKA is remarkable. This is in no small measure due to South African leadership and know-how. Dr Bernie Fanaroff and his team continue to do us proud.

The African Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (AVN) is being rolled out and will involve our eight SKA African partner countries. Through the AVN programme, SKA South Africa, in partnership with the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory, has also trained scientists and engineers from Ghana and Kenya, 13 of whom have spent six months to a year in South Africa. The AVN programme will continue to assist them with further training in their home countries, and will help them to train more technicians and scientists.

Astronomy partnerships have also been initiated with China, India, Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States of America. Leading global astronomers such as Prof Russ Taylor are relocating to South Africa, taking up positions under the South African Research Chairs Programme, attracted by South Africa’s commitment to and investment in science. We are becoming a preferred destination not only for global research infrastructure but also for global research talent.

The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) receives R118 million this year. It provides valuable Earth observation data to enable informed decisions by government departments and public entities.

SANSA continues to provide state-of-the-art ground-station services to many globally recognised space missions, such as the NASA and Indian Space Research Organisation Mars missions, and NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, which is giving scientists a better idea of how carbon is contributing to climate change, answering important questions about precisely where carbon is coming from and where it is stored.

We have reorganised the programmes in the DST to give greater emphasis to technology. We now have a programme called ‘technology innovation’ with a budget of R991 million. It’s main agency is the Technology Innovation Agency.

We aim to reposition TIA as an agency whose funding instruments will enable entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises to commercialise their technology innovations. Since 2010 TIA has disbursed a total of R1,2 billion on project contracts and grants. The agency has supported close to 6 838 small and medium enterprises in accelerating technical innovation through technology development at a cost of R286 million. The services provided by TIA have enabled the enterprises to be more competitive and productive. The agency has also funded the placement of 501 interns in various sectors, including at offices of technology transfer and in venture capital companies.

A few examples illustrate TIA’s contribution to innovation. Through support from TIA, Future Fynbos, a company that focuses on the selection and breeding of indigenous fynbos, has shipped its first commercial harvest, with 600 355 units sold in the local market and 10 000 units in the European Union. TIA also made a significant contribution to the University of Cape Town’s H3-D Centre, which is Africa’s first modern integrated drug discovery and development centre, and has over the past four years had remarkable success, delivering the first clinical drug candidate to come from Africa. Additional funding of R55 million was leveraged from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support tuberculosis and malaria drug development programmes. The centre also received R3 million from the Wolfson Foundation towards infrastructure improvement.

I would like to congratulate Marlize Holtzhausen, who is in the gallery. Her Rapid Response cellphone app won the internationally renowned 2014 Googlefest pitching competition for technology entrepreneurs. Her participation in this contest was supported under the Swiss-South Africa Business Development Programme, an example of our thriving portfolio of international partnerships, and I thank our Swiss partners for their support in this successful initiative. Other finalists were Drew van der Riet, working on advanced prosthetics, and Gavin Jones, who represented a University of Cape Town project on the rehabilitation of stroke patients.

Our support for research and development work in clean coal technologies through the carbon capture and storage chair at the South African National Energy Development Institute is bearing fruit. The CoalgaeTM initiative, part of the DST-funded biofuels programme at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, will in the 2014/15 financial year strive to find partners to upscale the semi-commercial pilot plant and also to find potential investors for the commercialisation of this technology.

Another success is the Photovoltaic Technology Intellectual Property (PTIP), a solar energy spin-off company from the University of Johannesburg, which was started in 2013. PTIP, in collaboration with a German-listed company (Singulus), manufactures photovoltaic thin films and is one of the very few global companies that are using copper indium gallium selinide. The DST is working closely with private sector partners to ensure the full commercialisation of the plant and the creation of jobs for the human capital being developed in institutions. This will be a huge contribution to government’s mandate of tackling poverty, inequality and unemployment.

As members can see, South Africa through the DST is fast becoming a preferred partner for research and innovation funding partnerships with international foundations. I believe that more funding should be available to the Technology Innovation Agency to fund commercialisation, as we do not as yet have a dynamic risk-taking venture capital system in South Africa. We are grateful to all our partners for their support.

In 2012 I announced the launch of the DST-Technology Top 100 internship programme, aimed at placing unemployed science, technology and engineering graduates in high technology companies. I am happy to report that the programme has over the last two years had an intake of 105 interns and that 25% of these interns have found permanent employment with their host companies at the end of the one-year programme. This year a further 65 candidates have been placed with companies in Gauteng and the Western Cape. We intend to grow the network of private sector companies interested in assisting us.

The DST’s Socio-economic Innovation Partnerships Programme receives a budget allocation of R1,5 billion. Of this, the Human Science Research Council (HSRC) receives R276 million and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) receives R826 million. The CSIR is the biggest and best-resourced science laboratory complex in the country. It accounts for 15% of government expenditure on research and development. Recently the CSIR adopted water sustainability, health, and safety and security as areas of integrated research and innovation. These three integrated research and innovation areas are in addition to the six already established research-impact fields of industry, built environment, health, natural environment, defence and security, and energy. The HSRC continues to improve on its reputation as an public entity providing excellent social-science research in a range of fields from reducing poverty to improving education, from improving gender relations to fighting HIV and AIDS.

The DST’s International Cooperation and Resources Programme receives R119 million to promote relationships with global partners, leverage foreign investment in South African science and technology, afford training opportunities for South African researchers abroad, and enable cooperation that permits South Africa to share in international experience and expertise.

In the 2013/14 financial year, through science diplomacy and smart co-investments, the DST secured R253 million in science, technology and innovation funds from international partners. This included a substantial partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the health, water and sanitation domains, and a dedicated programme with the European Union harnessing innovation for poverty alleviation.

In the next five years, the DST will prioritise support, through cooperation with international partners, for science, technology and innovation capacity-building in Africa. African Heads of State recently approved an ambitious continental framework, the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa. South Africa plans to be at the forefront of implementing this strategy.

The DST will step up its efforts to make South Africa a preferred destination for foreign science, technology and innovation investment. We would like to encourage international companies to locate their research and development facilities to South Africa. General Electric, for example, recently announced a R500 million investment in a customer innovation centre located in Gauteng, which will assist in developing the company’s global technology platforms for local market needs, and a further R200 million to support South African small and medium enterprises, notably through technology transfer.

In closing, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Deputy Minister Magwaza-Msibi, Dr Phil Mjwara, the Director-General of Science and Technology, and the staff of the Department for their hard work and commitment to making a difference in addressing poverty, inequality and unemployment. Thanks also to my staff in the Ministry for their hard work and support.

Likewise, I thank the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology for all they have done and will do to facilitate the realisation of the goals set for science and technology in the National Development Plan.

We remain committed to taking South Africa forward by using science, technology and innovation for socio-economic growth and transformation.

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Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Ms Zanele Kamagwaza-Msibi, on the occasion of the Budget Vote debate, Cape Town

Honourable Chairperson
Minister Pandor
Members of Parliament
Ladies and gentlemen.

I would like to echo Minister Pandor’s assertion about the importance of science and technology in realising the goals of the National Development Plan (NDP). The NDP proposes some broad focus areas for the National System of Innovation and its actors, including the use of knowledge and innovative products to compete in internationally trade. Obviously, innovation should also improve existing industries and help new industries to lower the cost of doing business in the private sector.

The department and its entities had a number of successes in the 2013/14 financial year:

• The National Recordal System for Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) was launched in Moruleng in the North West, and the first International Conference on IKS held in Gauteng. Between 2009 and 2010 more than R30 million was invested in supporting 25 applied research projects. The two IKS research chairs supported 12 PhDs, 31 master’s degrees and 40 honours degrees. 2013 also saw long overdue international recognition of these achievements, when the prestigious Knowledge Economy Network Forum awarded the Department of Science and Technology (DST) IKS Office its global prize for best practice in developing a national innovation programme.
• Through the Information and Communication Technology for Rural Education and Development project, 700 tablets and mobikits were handed out this year to learners, teachers and district officials in 12 schools.  It is anticipated that a further 2 440 tablets will be handed out this year.
• The Wireless Mesh Network initiative was extended to schools in the JT Gaetsewe District Municipality of the Northern Cape.
• Through the South African National Research Network (SANReN), a total of 173 research and educational sites have been connected with high-speed broadband, ranging from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 10 gigabits per second.
• The Bio-economy Strategy was launched, and its implementation plan will be finalised this year. South Africa is, thus, joining the ranks of leading knowledge economies, which all have dedicated strategies in this economically critical area.
• We also celebrated the 75th anniversary of the discovery of the coelacanth off the coast of South Africa. This major scientific discovery remains a wonderful story of chance, dedication, the geographic advantage of the country, and a great depth of scientific knowledge.

Honourable members, the development of knowledge is at the root of a country’s innovation system. As we move South Africa forward towards a knowledge-economy, we should be mindful that research is no longer performed solely within the walls of large institutions or corporations, or national boundaries. Collaboration is a new and important source of competitive advantage. Interactions between diverse actors have increased the possibility of research outcomes that are more relevant to the users of that knowledge.  It is important that our scientists and researchers continue to collaborate with their counterparts all over the world.  Science is, after all, an international enterprise.

We need to ensure that science, technology and innovation contribute to socio-economic development in line with the call by the President for the radical transformation of South Africa, addressing the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment.

To move the country towards a knowledge economy we need to invest massively in research infrastructure and human capital development, transforming science, technology and innovation so that historically disadvantaged communities become active participants in the sector.

Infrastructure for research and development

The presence of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in the Karoo town of Sutherland has benefitted the area enormously in terms of both science tourism and education. The observatory supports the local community through the teaching of Maths and Science at secondary school level. A community centre built two years ago is used to teach learners and adults computer literacy.

Global infrastructure like the SAAO, together with the MeerKAT and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), are also making a meaningful contribution to science tourism.

The SKA SA has established a bursary scheme to bring learners from surrounding towns to Carnarvon to study Maths and Science at school. Twenty-four learners are being supported through this programme.

Linked to astronomy, the DST, in collaboration with the Department of Public Enterprises and the state-owned company, Broadband Infraco, has invested more than R600 million in the acquisition of broadband capacity on the West Africa Cable System. This will support the work of the MeerKAT and the SKA to retain South Africa’s well recognised global status in the field of space and astronomy.

In the 2014/15 financial year more than 200 sites across the country will be connected to international research networks hosting over 3 000 research and education institutions all over the world. Currently, there are close to 1 million users on the SANReN network daily. By the end of the medium term expenditure framework (MTEF) period the DST will have invested about R600 million on the acquisition of additional international broadband connectivity. In the MTEF period the DST will establish a National Integrated Cyber infrastructure System to put in place the best operational, management and governance structure and the most sustainable business model.

Our continued investment in the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) is yielding positive results with regard to human capital development in the area of scarce skills.  The CHPC has more than 500 users and has twice been listed among the Top 500 super computers in the world.  South African students won the International Supercomputing Conference in Germany last year and this year.  The CHPC has been accredited as a member of the international SKA Science Data Processing Consortium, demonstrating the centre’s footprint in the international community and recognising the country’s capability to participate in international projects.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems

The African Union recognises the essential nature of African knowledge systems in the holistic development of the continent, and South Africa actively supports the preservation, protection and development of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS). The country has more than 300 000 traditional health practitioners, and there are approximately 5 000 medicinal plant species on the African continent, as well as many different minerals, animals, reptiles and insects with potential health or economic benefits. South Africa has the modern scientific innovation capacity to develop African traditional medicines and, with the traditional healing sector estimated to be worth US$4 billion, it is important that government ensures the use of South Africa’s biodiversity to address poverty, inequality and unemployment. Both the Technology Innovation Agency and the South African Bureau of Standards are contributing towards the modernisation and commercialisation of African traditional medicines.

The DST is in the process of facilitating commercialisation agreements on nutraceutical candidate products with Nestlé and on cosmeceutical candidates with L’Oréal. Anti-hair-loss and anti-wrinkle products developed are being licensed to two private-sector companies.

More than 300 community members were trained in agro processing, business management and the commercialisation of products through the IKS Bioprospecting and Product Development Platform.

Partnership with the Department of Basic Education

The DST provides support to the Department of Basic Education under a five-year framework (from 2014 to 2019) aimed at promoting public engagement on science, technology and innovation.

The Technology for Rural Education Development (TECH4RED) project in Cofimvaba is aimed at contributing to the improvement of rural education through ICT-led innovation in nutrition, agri-teaching, energy, water, sanitation and e-health, as well as the development of a science centre in Cofimvaba.

TECH4RED is investigating how the application and deployment of new and existing technologies, which include e-textbooks and other electronic resources at schools, can assist to develop a framework that can be replicated and upscaled in other provinces and across the rural education system.

A digital badging system is used to measure and assess the readiness of both individual teachers and schools before they can be issued with the tablets. We have also developed an ICT teacher development model that we hope will assist teachers to integrate ICT efficiently into teaching. About 136 teachers have successfully completed the ICT teacher professional development course.

ICT research, development and innovation

Our Information and Communications Technology (ICT) portfolio has continued to grow since ICT was identified in 2002 as one of the key technology missions of the National Research and Development Strategy. Last year Cabinet approved the 10 year ICT Research, Development and Implementation Roadmap as a national plan for implementing the ICT RDI Strategy which, over the past six years, has received funding of R85 million per annum. The strategy has contributed to advancing human capital development, ICT for Earth observation, human language technology, video coding and information security. A total of 216 undergraduate and postgraduate students were supported by the ICT RDI human capital development programme between 2006 and 2013.

The ICT RDI Roadmap is aimed at increasing public and private investment in ICT research, development and innovation by providing a mechanism to forecast technology developments in targeted areas and identify critical areas for development if South Africa’s socio-economic objectives are to be met, in education and health, for example.

We will need R9 billion to implement the roadmap, and will have to develop a financing strategy with input from the Department, its entities, National Treasury, other government departments and the private sector. Concerted efforts by the DST and its ICT RDI implementing agency, the CSIR Meraka Institute, have succeeded in sourcing and leveraging additional funding of about R258 million for ICT RDI activities.

This includes:

• R15 million from the Development Bank of South Africa Green Fund for the development of an ICT Smart and Green Platform aimed at demonstrating how ICT can support green economy goals for the country;
• three-year funding of R61,1 million from the DST and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform;
• R62 million over three years from the National Treasury’s Economic Competitiveness Support Package for the ICT Industry Innovation Partnership Fund;
• R120 million from European Union General Budget Support funding for an ICT innovation programme.

We are also developing a rich portfolio of ICT research and innovation partnerships with the world’s leading multinational companies, including the likes of Cisco, IBM, Microsoft and Nokia. We are determined for South Africa to become a preferred destination for global ICT research and innovation investments.

Research, water, energy and health in education

In support of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform’s Comprehensive Rural Development Programme, the DST will in 2014/15 pilot innovative alternative service delivery options for water resource management and waste water treatment.  We intend to ensure that the current and future energy needs of schools are quantified, and that appropriate energy technology solutions are developed to meet the identified needs.

In this regard, we have finalised a feasibility study on supplying hydrogen in Cofimvaba. Hydrogen storage facilities are under construction, and fuel cells donated by Anglo Platinum have been tested. The cells are now ready for deployment to Cofimvaba. The Fort Hare, Stellenbosch and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Universities are developing renewable energy systems for schools.

Through the e-health intervention, mobile devices with specific mobile applications are used to improve access to school healthcare and health education on the basis of the schools’ needs. Television screens have been installed at clinics with appropriate health education content, and a mobile application aligned to the Integrated School Health Policy has been developed to capture each learner’s health record electronically.

Support for government in decision-making

Through the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR’s) Meraka Institute, we assisted the government to develop the National Health Normative Standards Framework for Interoperability in e-Health. This framework was approved by the Minister of Health in April 2014 in order to optimise healthcare delivery, research and education.

The DST is leading the development of the cybersecurity research, development and innovation agenda and the enhancement of the cybersecurity at universities, science councils and industry. The department will also coordinate the country’s collaboration with international partners on matters of research, development and high-end skilling on cybersecurity.

Later this year, in August, the department will launch the Water Technologies Demonstration Programme. This is part of the broader Water Research, Development and Innovation Roadmap that the DST is developing in partnership with the Water Research Commission. The DST and the Water Research Commission are also supporting South Africa’s participation in the water cluster of the European Union (EU’s) renowned industrial research programme, Eureka. A recent success includes Eureka’s approval of a large-scale project looking to develop solutions for wastewater problems in the mining industry, which includes the participation of our national science council, Mintek, and Anglo Coal. Effectively dealing with wastewater is a major environmental and societal concern for our mining industry.

We have a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the area of sanitation. This will enable the department to access innovative technologies that have been subjected to a rigorous selection process by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and to pilot them in 23 rural district municipalities in Cofimvaba which have been identified by government as in critical need of assistance with sanitation. The projects will be piloted during the 2014/15 financial year with R10,7 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and R30 million from the DST.

In comparison to other developing countries, anecdotal evidence indicates that the department’s efforts to help address poverty, unemployment and inequality are considerable. As a number of developing countries in Asia and Latin America are doing, the DST will be developing a strategy and roadmap for ensuring that innovation plays its role in achieving inclusive development. This strategy is aligned to the 1996 White Paper on Science and Technology and the Poverty Reduction Mission of the 2002 National Research and Development Strategy, as well as the National Development Plan.

Youth into Science

In pursuit of increasing public engagement on science, technology and innovation, a science and education centre will be built in Cofimvaba at a cost R30 million to encourage an appreciation for science and to offer teacher training in the area. A mobile science laboratory will also be linked to the science centre to reach other nearby rural areas. The mobile laboratory is funded by the DST and the Sasol Inzalo Foundation.

We have also appointed the Human Sciences Research Council to assess the effectiveness and success of the crowding-in of technologies approach in improving learning and teaching in a rural context as piloted under the Tech4RED initiative, and to facilitate real-time feedback from the project into project plans and implementation.

Bioeconomy

This year we will finalise the implementation plan of the Bio-economy Strategy which recognises the importance of research, development and technology innovation in three main sectors, namely, health, agriculture (including forestry and fisheries), and industry/environment. In order to realise this, an investment of R1,5 billion for the first year, growing to R5 billion in five years would be required.

Our science system continues to be world class. A South African-led initiative to sequence the Eucalyptus genome resulted in an article in Nature (the gold standard for science publications) last month, and the local forestry industry is already using the markers developed in the DST-industry partnership.

Our country continues to be a key player in the Human Heredity and Health in Africa initiative. In this regard, we have secured funding of $74 million from the US National Institutes of Health and the Wellcome Trust for a variety of research project on diseases of local relevance. It is critical that the growing momentum in bio-innovation that underpins the Bio-economy Strategy be better resourced to create a vibrant bioeconomy that can seize opportunities to create wealth and employment for South Africa, as well as treatments to address our disease burden.

Conclusion

Honourable Members, I have been working with Minister Pandor for a few weeks only, but I already appreciate her clarity of purpose, drive and passion for success. I am also pleased to be partnering with Director-General Dr Phil Mjwara, and the hard-working DST team.

I look forward to the critical oversight of the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology under the leadership of the Honourable Dr Bevan Goqwana.

Thank you.