Cape Town – Science and Technology Deputy Minister Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi says her department will invest more in research and innovation to ensure that the country produces more scientists and engineers.
Speaking to SAnews shortly after briefing Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology on Wednesday, the deputy minister said these areas needed special attention to ensure that the country moves towards improving the lives of people by investing in the knowledge economy.
She said this amid concerns that the country was not producing enough students in the fields of maths and science.
She said the department’s annual performance plans of 2014/15 and the budget proposal going forward would also focus on investing in human capital development.
“The priority areas for the department are firstly research, innovation and human capital investment. To us, that is very crucial as we go forward,” she said.
“For us, that is very crucial going forward because we need to fund a lot of students to do research and science, especially post-graduate students because we need a lot of engineers and scientists, particularly women and black students,” she said.
Deputy Minister KaMagwaza-Msibi said the department was currently heading several projects in the science and technology fields. This, she said, made the role of scientists even more prominent in helping the country accomplish its development targets.
“Also there are projects like the Square Kilometre Array, a project that we are implementing in the Northern Cape.
“It is a very important project. It is the world’s largest telescope that we are implementing in collaboration with the countries of the world. Therefore, we also need the funding for that project to be concluded,” she said.
The department has already completed the first phase of the project, which was the successful construction of the MeerKat.
Deputy Minister kaMagwaza-Msibi said the total budget of the department that would be voted on, will be in the region of R7 billion.
She said this would be enough to fund the projects that the department will carry out over the next funding period.
She also said her department will partner with the Basic and Higher Education Departments to ensure that there is an investment in the teaching of science and technology in disadvantaged areas. – SAnews.gov.za
