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Female tech innovators required

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 25 Jul 2016
Minister Naledi Pandor says science and technology can be used for local community development.
Minister Naledi Pandor says science and technology can be used for local community development.

Science and technology can improve local government services as well as help advance communities, according to science and technology minister Naledi Pandor.

Pandor has urged South African communities to use technology to improve local service delivery.

Speaking at the 8th Annual Leadership Development for Women Conference in Johannesburg, Pandor said many of the new innovations that have emerged in the past decade provide opportunities to enhance healthcare, education, water provision, sanitation, energy supply, agriculture, Internet connectivity and houses.

According to Pandor, to illustrate how science and technology can be used for local development, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has set up a project that involves the work of scientists and community members in Giyani in Limpopo to collaborate on rose geranium oil studies.

They are collaborating to develop a network of rural-based oil production businesses, she said. The DST is also working with the SA Essential Oil Business Incubator on the business aspects.

"There is a high global demand for rose geranium oil, and the DST project is developing the crop for primary production processes that are cheaper and produce higher oil yields of the required quality. It also exploits frugal distillation technologies and is rolling out a comprehensive marketing programme to ensure the entry of rural products into mainstream markets, both local and international."

She added: "The project, which started out with 85 employees, some of whom are part owners of the business, today employs 250 local people - a clear illustration of how science and technology can be used for local development."

Pandor said SA's national system of innovation was geared to support regional and local innovation systems, with universities central to regional innovation forums and science parks.

"Science parks can be extremely useful in promoting national and regional competitiveness, but by themselves do not guarantee regional success. For science parks to succeed in promoting local economic growth, they must be fully integrated into the overall social and economic development strategy and context," she said.

SA's science parks include the East London Industrial Development Zone, the Innovation Hub in Pretoria, and a science park at the Vaal University of Technology.

"The DST's strategic objective is to develop regional innovation forums in each province to help set collective research priorities for the province and to elevate innovation as a driver for economic and social development."

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