Ramaphosa says bigger R&D budget will help spur societal transformation
The South African government has recognised the need to increase the country’s research and development (R&D) budget. This was stated recently by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria. He was opening the Fifth CSIR Conference, as well as marking the CSIR’s seventieth anniversary. “As a country, we commend the the positive, progressive contribution made by the CSIR to advance science, engineering and technology in the democratic era,” he said. “The work of the CSIR is helping to transform our society.
“Science is at the centre of all human progress,” he noted. “It is critical to our development as a nation and as a continent.” He pointed out that Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor had been continually raising in the Cabinet the issue of increasing the R&D budget. “We are heeding her call,” he stated. “The penny has dropped. To move ahead, this is the budget we have to increase.”
“Investment in R&D has been an important part of our economic development strategy over the last two decades,” he affirmed. “Technological innovation is crucial for economic diversification and sustainability. As we have encouraged investment in R&D, we have worked to reconfigure and reorientate our research institutions and to promote cooperation between higher education institutions, State agencies and business.”
He noted that the South African government was working to make the country a preferred destination for foreign science and technology investment. He cited investments made by General Electric (GE), IBM and Cisco. GE is investing R500-million in a customer innovation centre in Gauteng and providing an extra R200-million to transfer technology to local small, medium-sized and micro enterprises; IBM will invest R700-million over ten years into information and communication technology R&D; and Cisco has unveiled a R66-million, three-year partnership to increase its R&D in the country. “We’ve got intellectual capital that we can showcase to the world,” he affirmed.
“Investment in R&D has been an important part of our economic strategy,” he said. “A strong manufacturing sector is also crucial for industrialisation. “The CSIR has the capacity and expertise to contribute to the growth of our manufacturing sector.” He affirmed that the CSIR would play a major role in enabling the execution of the National Development Plan, which covers the next 15 years.
“[M]ore than 50% of the people that do the fantastic work here are truly representative of the demography of our country,” he highlighted. “I’m confident that, with all the work you’re doing here, you’ll make our country successful,” asserted Ramaphosa. “Our vision for 2030 is that we become a dynamic and connected information society and that we have a vibrant knowledge economy that is inclusive and prosperous. The CSIR has a critical contribution to make to the achievement of such a society.”
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