The Department of Science and Technology was mandated with the responsibility of co-ordinating the development of policies and strategies in respect of science, technology and innovation including, but not limited to research and development.
An added mandate was to support the technological competitiveness of business and industrial sectors through focused research and development.
Now one of the problems that we have as the NFP in terms of this is that there are expectations from this particular department. Let us be honest, under the circumstances this department particularly with its unqualified and preauditted, it performed exceptionally well. Let us not run away from the truth. However, on the other hand, you are asking this department to prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but at the same time, you are suffocating it by not giving them the tools or the resources to be able to achieve. Now what you are actually doing is setting this department for failure.
I think one of the things we have to be honest about and realistic, it is not about scoring points or grandstanding, it is about taking South Africa forward and adjusting the challenges our people face in
the country. One of the ways to do that is to work in unison or work together, united so that we can achieve these goals.
One of the things I would like the department to pay attention to is and I think that is one of your responsibilities in terms of the economic development and particularly when it comes to a role you can play in terms of job creation. Many years ago South Africa used to have a vibrant automotive industry which used to manufacture all motor vehicles, including if you look at our health sector. There is a lot that we cannot do and this department can play a pivotal role in ensuring that we are not led by the international community or the West, but we can become leaders in technology and that is I think where we must focus.
Now, you know if you look at some of the challenges that we face, take our borders and look at the illegal goods that come in, look at the systems that we have in place in terms of managing and ensuring that people that enter through those borders do not bring in fake goods and drugs. What are we doing? Not much about that. So, I am asking the department to look at these things how you can through science and technology put in mechanisms, identify equipment that we could manufacture in South Africa and then it is a win win situation
preventing them, but also creating jobs. I believe we have the ability in South Africa to do that.