Zuma sidesteps high-tech sectors

THE State of the Nation address delivered by South African President Jacob Zuma last week made no effective mention of science and technology, or of universities, or of research and development (R&D) or of the country’s high-technology industry sectors, such as aerospace, defence and nuclear.

There was, however, a commitment to improving the quality of the country’s basic (primary and secondary) education system and to provide increased further education for those who do not qualify for university (this was the only context within which the word ‘university’ appeared). Added to this, was a brief mention of the government’s intent to increase the number of technicians, engineers, and maths and science teachers that the country produces.The section of the speech devoted to health contained no reference to medical R&D.President Zuma did say that, ‘as part of our efforts to encourage greater economic growth, we are working to reduce the cost to communicate. The South African public can look forward to an even further reduction of broadband, cellphone, landline and public phone rates. We will work to increase broadband speed and ensure a high standard of Internet service, in line with international norms.’ But he gave no timetable, nor explained how these objectives will be achieved.A large proportion of South Africa’s aerospace, defence and nuclear industries are State-owned, through the Denel defence industrial group, the PBMR Company, and the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. The future of the Denel group, and especially the PBMR Company, are still cloudy. But none of these companies, nor indeed the industries they are part of, were mentioned in the speech.The President stated that the country’s ‘Industrial Policy Action Plan and our new focus on green jobs, will build stronger and more labour-absorbing industries’. But labour-absorbing industries tend to be old technology industries.Overall, the focus of the speech was on the past and on the immediate now, and not on the future.On Friday, following-up on the President’s speech, Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring, Evaluation and Administration Collins Chabane briefed the media on nine ‘outcomes’ sought by the government (another three are yet to be agreed and will be discussed by the Cabinet during the next two months). Again, not one of these nine is focused on high-technology industries, science and technology, universities, or R&D.One outcome is improving basic education and another is the creation of a skilled work force. Regarding the latter, there is a commitment to ‘strengthen sectoral research and planning capacity’.Concerning the outcome entitled ‘decent employment through inclusive economic growth’ there is the pledge that one of the results of industrial policy must be ‘increasing innovation’, although the leading pledge is that the policy ‘should support labour-absorbing sectors’.- www.engineeringnews.co.za