Minister of science and technology, Mosibudi Mangena, says his department has secured funding to establish at least five ICT research chairs at South African universities.
Mangena was elaborating on the contents of his speech, ahead of the Department of Science and Technology`s budget speech to Parliament today.
He said that while good research was being done in the biotechnology arena, not enough was being done for ICT.
Mangena said the National Treasury had allocated his department R200 million over the next three years for the establishment of chairs at universities in science and engineering faculties, within which the ICT research would fall.
Another R39 million has also been allocated for science and technology infrastructure that includes the funding of the National Research Network, which is still in its pilot stage.
Mangena said consideration was also being given to the creation of a National Space Agency that would co-ordinate all activities related to space activities, including the development of satellite technology and astronomy activities.
Department of Science and Technology director-general Rob Adam told ITWeb separately that a space agency was needed because the country was at a disadvantage when negotiating with other countries in space matters.
"If we need to discuss issues with say Nasa [the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration], the European Space Agency or China, we have to create an ad hoc working group. Even Nigeria has its own space agency," he said.
The department`s budget was increased by 22% this year to R1.986 billion, but Mangena said this is still too little to meet government`s target of reversing the decline in overall research and development, and increase this to about 1% of the gross domestic product.
"Currently SA has 7.5 researchers per 1 000 employees and this is too low to permit sustained contributions to the economy. Most of the researchers are 50 years of age and upwards and are due to retire in the next 10 years," Mangena said.
He is hoping the trend will be partially reversed through a number of large collaborative projects such as the southern African large telescope in Sutherland, participation in the world`s largest gamma ray telescope in Namibia, and the possible awarding to SA of the square kilometre array telescope, for which R8 million has been allocated and should be finalised later this year.
The development of science and technology centres around the country, such as the MTN Science Centre in Cape Town and the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Johannesburg, are a priority for the department. Mangena hopes to have such centres in all the provinces, using public and private funds to establish them.
Among the projects being punted by the department are the Digital Doorway kiosks, designed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (which now falls under the department`s ambit), which are being used to give disadvantaged people a chance to become computer literate in their own languages. One kiosk is in the Eastern Cape and the other in Gauteng.
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