Buyelwa Sonjica, deputy minister of science and technology, says there is an urgent need for technology to be put to use for the economic development of the Eastern Cape.
Speaking at the Eastern Cape Technology Imbizo in Port Elizabeth this week, Sonjica said the imbizo had to identify what the technological barriers to growth and development were, so that government could establish priorities to deal with them in a coherent and holistic manner.
The imbizo is one of a series of meetings the Department of Science and Technology is holding with regional stakeholders, in a bid to understand the social and economic environment of each province.
Sonjica told delegates that the government felt driven to promote local technological innovation, partly because this country had been ranked 39th out of a total of 162 countries in terms of technology achievement. "We are positioned as dynamic technology adopters, but the broader assessment of development, human development in particular, places us at 94th out of 162. In other words, we are not putting technology to work for the broader population.
"We need to continue to put technology to work, to generate revenues for our existing industrial base, but we must, as a matter of urgency, start generating new businesses - service providers - that use technology for education, health and particularly to enhance the value of our natural resources before they get onto the market," she said.
Sonjica said a recent survey on innovation in SA had posed the question: Is SA a technology colony? "The findings reveal that SA is highly dependent on foreign technology for new products and there is a low national system of innovation. The sectors with low levels of innovation are those that have been swamped in their bid for survival, including the textiles, clothing, leather and footwear sectors. However, high levels of innovation were found in the wood, paper, transport equipment, electrical and publishing sectors," she told delegates.
"In a recent survey on small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) in developing countries, SA recorded the highest rate of failure, but SA exhibits surprisingly high levels of innovative behaviour and in fact, is only just short of European Union levels. We need to review critically why there should be such contrasting conditions. Clearly, considerably more support needs to be channelled towards SMMEs and their development."
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