Sihlalo, malungu ahloniphekileyo ...
English: ... fellow South Africans ...
IsiXhosa: ... ndiyanibulisa ngale njikalanga, molweni.
English: The DA supports the need to harmonise the provisions which regulate the operations and governance of the science and innovation public entities through the Amendment Bill in order to strengthen accountability and enhance consistency.
It must be made clear that the DA in Parliament and the DA-led Western Cape government have been heavily involved in the process of strengthening this legislation because we believe that South Africa has neglected the importance of matching its policy commitment to improved education and skills with a dedicated focus on innovation and design to drive job creating economic growth.
The institutions created to promote innovation for growth have not been appropriately co-ordinated, funded or integrated with initiatives in the private sector.
To be a winning nation, South Africa must also be a place where new ideas are generated. This includes ideas to improve the way we deliver services, ideas to connect people to each other and with the information they need to make informed decisions about their lives. It should include ideas for new products that can generate income, ideas to improve the efficiency of processes in both the public and private sector; and ideas to solve our key societal challenges, for example in education, health, housing, social protection and job creation.
However, in order for us to do this effectively as a collective, we have to have a clear definition of what science and innovation means to us as South Africans and what role it should serve in advancing socioeconomic development. Let us not forget, in the past, the science narrative was shaped by a few, leaving the majority behind.
This narrative is now changing and it is at this juncture that we must be very intentional in how we shape the conversations around science and innovation because they influence the kind of initiatives we take on to improve the quality of our lives.
If we do not make a concerted effort to define this narrative, we run the risk of taking on science and innovation initiatives that don't address South Africa's triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
We will look back and ask ourselves, what good did it yield to shout on roof tops Fourth Industrial Revolution and yet, the inequality gaps are still wide and the basic fundamentals are still burning issues hindering the progress of underdeveloped communities? [Applause.]
Therefore, there must be a coordinated effort to develop a value chain that will see science and innovation as an enabler of socioeconomic prosperity rather than a by-the-way elitist space.
ANC Ministers who are out of touch with the harsh realities of our people continually insist on building smart cities, providing tablets to school learners, developing data and artificial intelligence policy's for big business and entrepreneurs. And yet, the reality is, majority of public schools, especially in our rural and township communities, do not have fully functional and equipped science labs, a key component that gives a child the opportunity to practicalise science. [Applause.]
Time and time again, we have heard sweeping statements made about bullet- trains and creating smart cities and yet we sit with an energy and water crisis in our rural and peri-urban communities.
We are talking about developing data and artificial intelligence policies and yet we know all too well that for our scientists, engineers, technopreneurs and student entrepreneurs, the lack of funding remains a stumbling block that hinders research solutions being translated to impactful technology. We also know that access to market for our Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises, SMMEs, thereafter is always a problem and yet the ANC-led government does not make enough noise on these key issues.
If we are truly serious about creating a National System of Innovation, NSI, that is inclusive and advances socioeconomic development, we to have to find way of extending the conversation beyond ourselves. The inability for us to understand the real issues on the ground, on a much deeper level, will have us shooting in the dark and adopting technologies and systems that are not fit for context and will only widen the gap between insiders and outsiders.
Therefore, the DA proposes the following in line with our innovation policy: Science needs to serve us by using it for problem-solving our societal problems such as education, skills development, safety, service delivery, National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, which is a failing entity with their Information and Communications Technology, ICT, there's a huge certification backlog where students can't get their certificates, student housing and community development.
We, however, commend the good work done by the Department of Science And Innovation even with their stringent budget; however, we do believe that the merger of the Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation can use science as a tool to solve societal problems rather than to be seen as elitist spares.
The boy who harnessed the wind is a true reflection of how we can contextualise science and channel it for the purpose of socioeconomic development. I thank you so much. [Applause.]