Science and Technology South Africa

Researcher suspended for plagiarising own work

2007-02-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

Business Day: 31 January 2007
A RESEACHER at the Pretoria-based Africa Institute of SA (AISA) was suspended for plagiarising what turned out to be his own work, according to Science and Technology Minister Mosibudi Mangena.

Replying to a parliamentary question, he said Check Achu, a Cameroonian, was suspended in January last year after he submitted two articles for an AISA publication. The articles were red-flagged by AISA’s plagiarism software detection system.

However, it transpired in the subsequent investigation that Achu had used some material from his Masters’ thesis in the articles, not knowing that his thesis supervisor at the University of SA (Unisa) had already published parts of the thesis without his consent.

Achu was reinstated in August pending the results of an internal investigation by Unisa. "From the findings of the internal Unisa disciplinary hearing against his Masters’ thesis supervisor, it transpired that the supervisor may have plagiari[s]ed Mr Check Achu’s Masters’ thesis," Mangena said.

"The case against his Masters’ thesis supervisor is still ongoing at Unisa."

South Africa’s Pressing Nuclear Choices

2007-01-20T07:46:00.000-08:00

Taking advantage of an unusual nuclear history; an innovative, domestic nuclear power industry; and strong ties with other strategic countries, South Africa is emerging as a crucial bridge between developed and developing countries on nuclear issues. South Africa’s outspoken support for “all” country’s rights to develop nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes and its renewed interest in developing its own nuclear fuel cycle puts it at center stage in nonproliferation debates.

At the same time, its record as the only country to develop its own nuclear weapons and then renounce them has allowed it to challenge the nuclear-weapon states to meet their disarmament commitments under the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

South Africa has long played a prominent role in the Nonaligned Movement (NAM), which brings together developing countries. Moreover, it has forged close ties with Brazil and India on nuclear issues, and the three together yield considerable influence on nuclear issues as members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors.[1] In the next few months, it will also gain new power in the UN Security Council and as the next chair of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.[2] More than ever, therefore, South Africa’s nuclear policy can have significant implications in shaping the future of the nuclear nonproliferation regime. It has the potential to be a responsible model for other developing nations to follow or could prove to be a new problem by backing some states that have questionable motives.

Unique Past, Unique Present

South Africa once had the infrastructure to assemble a number of nuclear weapons. In 1989, however, the government gave up that path, admitted its nuclear weapons development, and disassembled the devices. Subsequently, South Africa joined the NPT and became an important voice in the nonproliferation regime, particularly as a representative of developing nations, including those in the NAM. In addition, South Africa is part of the New Agenda Coalition, an eight-state grouping that demands “the speedy, final and total elimination” of all nuclear weapons. These fora provide South Africa with an opportunity to convey its commitment to nonproliferation and disarmament efforts.

To this end, South Africa was one of the few countries recently to criticize the United Kingdom’s decision to build a new class of ballistic missile-capable submarines. In an official statement, the South African Department of Foreign Affairs called on the British government to honor its “unequivocal undertaking” toward nuclear disarmament made during the 2000 NPT review conference.[3]

South Africa’s long nuclear history has also laid the basis for a domestic nuclear industry of a size and sophistication unusual for developing countries, and it continues to develop new nuclear technologies that will equate to larger markets and increased revenue in the future.

South Africa’s nuclear industry is one of the most innovative in the world. It includes projects such as the pebble-bed modular reactor slated for construction beginning in 2007, which puts South Africa at the forefront of nuclear energy technologies. The pebble-bed reactor will be pioneering in its cost, safety (it avoids the complexities and low efficiencies of the steam cycle), design, and quality control. It will eventually provide 4,000-5,000 megawatts of power following module completion in 2013. The reactor will use down-blended weapons-grade uranium from former Russian nuclear warheads.[4]

The country also has the world’s fourth-largest uranium reserves[5] and significant experience in fuel production. South African officials are exploring the potential construction of new nuclear plants and re-invigorating South Africa’s nuclear fuel cycle.[6] Its strong web of bilateral and multilateral relationships could allow South Africa to grow as a major global supplier of nuclear technologies.[7]

Not surprisingly, South Africa has been a proponent of nuclear energy for all, arguing that all states adhering to the NPT have the basic and inalienable right to develop research and production capabilities for the peaceful use of nuclear energy without discrimination.[8] In particular, South Africa had resisted efforts to curb the spread of uranium-enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing technologies even though they can either provide fuel for nuclear reactors or fissile materials for nuclear weapons. This has brought it into conflict with some of the nuclear-weapon states that argue that Iran has used loopholes in their safeguards obligations under the NPT to develop nuclear weapons capabilities.

Additionally, since 2005, South Africa has been persistent in its effort to use highly enriched uranium in its currently operating Safari research reactor. It openly rejects efforts by the United States and other nuclear-weapon states to phase out the use of this weapons-ready material in civilian nuclear reactors, claiming that this approach undermines the right of states who have already committed to nonproliferation. In 2005, South African ambassador to the IAEA Abdul Minty affirmed “the need to guard against the imposition of any arrangement that may infringe on the inalienable right of states to the peaceful application of nuclear energy.”[9]

Moreover, South Africa’s brand of diplomacy also has raised concerns. South Africa is a strong advocate for the NAM, which it joined in 1994 and which provides it with an opportunity to strengthen nuclear ties with other developing countries. Its advocacy raises concerns for the United States, given that the organization also includes among its members such countries of proliferation concern as Iran and Syria.

In September 2006, during the 14th NAM summit in Havana, member states supported the rights of developing countries to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.[10] The final document, pointing to Article IV of the NPT, affirmed “the basic inalienable right of all states to develop research, production, and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes without any discrimination and in conformity with their respective legal obligations.”[11]

Relations With Iran

South Africa has been a staunch supporter of Iran’s right to develop its nuclear infrastructure.[12] In December 2006, for example, South African ambassador to Iran Yusuf Saloojee said that “ Iran is a signatory to the NPT and is thus entitled to use peaceful nuclear technology.” South African officials seem to have paid less attention to the agreement reached during the 2000 NPT review conference in which states-parties agreed that the inalienable right should only include those parties that are also in compliance with Article III of the treaty, related to a country’s safeguards obligations.

Western countries argue that Iran forfeited its right to nuclear technologies because it was not in compliance with its safeguard obligations. Countering that argument, in August 2006 South African Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad asserted that the Iranian problem has been brought about “primarily due to the unequal implementation of the delicately balanced rights and obligations contained in the NPT itself.”[13] Pahad argued, “Few states doubt the inherent discriminatory nature of the treaty, which created two distinct groups: the haves and the have-nots.”[14] Many of those have-nots are developing countries.

In May 2006, South African officials and the foreign ministers of Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Syria, and Venezuela met with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Afterward, South African Deputy Foreign Minister Sue van der Merwe spoke of stronger ties to Iran, particularly within the NAM framework, adding that Iran has been instrumental in providing regional stability.[15] After the meeting, Mottaki stated that, “[g]iven that today NAM member states more than ever have commonalities in the international scene, their coordination and close cooperation can create a powerful movement in the world.”[16] In August 2006, bilateral cooperation was strengthened when Mottaki met with a number of South African government officials, including Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Buyelwa Sonjica, Minister of Trade and Industry Mandisi Mpahlwa, and Minister of Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena.[17] South Africa may have also offered to transfer natural uranium to Iran for use in its program, although there is no indication that any such deal has been concluded.[18]

Additionally, Iran and South Africa have made other overtures to strengthen their nuclear cooperation. During the 61st annual session of the UN General Assembly in September 2006, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mbeki discussed points for strengthening bilateral relations in various fields, including the nuclear field.[19] This and other activities appeared to cause considerable concern in the international community. The United States sent Gregory Schulte, its ambassador to the IAEA, to South Africa to urge it to take a stricter stance on Iran’s nuclear issue.[20]

Nor has South Africa always been a responsible actor in nuclear trade. Since 2004, it has become apparent that some individuals and companies in South Africa supplied nuclear-related equipment to Libya as part of Abdul Qadeer Khan’s nuclear network.[21] The investigation and criminal proceedings continue at this time. They focus on Gerhard Wisser, a German engineer who was CEO of the South African-based Krisch Engineering, and Daniel Geiges, a Swiss mechanical engineer who served as managing director of Krisch Engineering in South Africa. Wisser and Geiges were allegedly involved in arranging the fabrication of gas-feed and withdrawal systems in the plans for a centrifuge-enrichment plant in Libya. Johan Meyer, a South African mechanical engineer also was arrested for his alleged involvement in Khan’s network. Meyer’s company, TradeFin Engineering, imported vacuum pumps from Spain and pressure sensors from German companies.[22]

In January 2004, Asher Karni, a naturalized South African resident and a salesman for the military and aviation electronics company Top-Cape Technology, was arrested for his involvement in the Khan network. Gotthard Lerch faces charges for his involvement in the nuclear smuggling network to obtain piping from South Africa and autoclave technology using blueprints from the 1980s from the nuclear industry leader Urenco.[23]

Subsequently, the South African government has put forth significant effort to arrest those involved in illicit transactions and deter others through stricter guidelines and stronger controls.

Conclusion

South Africa appears to have a nuclear policy with opposing objectives and points of view. Although it promotes the development of nuclear technologies almost to the detriment of the nonproliferation regime, it has been taking a more public leadership role in nonproliferation and disarmament efforts. To serve as a responsible voice, however, South Africa’s policy should have clarity, consistency, and equity. As it stands now, South Africa’s support for some countries and its stated interest to increase its own nuclear activities could prove damaging to its laudable nonproliferation and disarmament efforts.

South Africa is committed to the future of nuclear energy and has made clear that its program to develop its civilian nuclear program will focus on peaceful purposes. Sharing of its pebble-bed modular reactor technology, however, could prove threatening to the nonproliferation regime unless it closely monitors the exchange of this technology and imposes stricter controls on its own imports and exports.

South Africa should also work to promote a more multilateral, farsighted approach to nuclear technologies and material, as suggested by IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei.[24]

In short, South Africa must continue to strike a balance between supporting states’ rights to develop nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes and working to stop the progress of those that would use these technologies for the development of nuclear weapons. Through its unique position and leadership role in prominent international organizations, South Africa has an opportunity to steer the direction of the nuclear industry and the global nonproliferation regime in a positive direction. It should take it.

Ministers calls for joint Iran-SA fund

2006-11-28T06:44:00.000-08:00

Iranian Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mohammad-Mehdi Zahedi here Monday called for establishment of a joint financial fund with South Africa to support research projects in the two countries.

Zahedi, during a meeting with South African Minister of Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena, expressed Iran's readiness to exchange university professors and students with South Africa.

He called for exchange of experiences beteen the two countries' universities and activation of their scientific committees to achieve this goal.

Speaking of Iran's nuclear program, he said the country was pursuing a nuclear program as part of its desire to advance its scientific capabilities.

Mangena, referring to the friendly ties between Tehran and Pretoria, urged direct cooperation between their universities.

He urged stronger ties between Iranian and South African researchers and scientists which, he said, would bring remarkable benefits to their two nations.

Country needs engineering skills

2006-11-22T12:38:00.000-08:00

As South Africa gears itself to achieve 6 percent economic growth by 2010, a top Japanese businessman has highlighted the need for the country to develop engineering skills in order to achieve this.

Speaking to BuaNews on Monday chief executive officer and Managing Director of Isuzu South Africa Masatoshi Kobayashi said the establishment of a university dedicated to teaching engineering would go a long way towards achieving the economic growth target.

"The challenge faced by the country is the lack of suitable skills in the engineering sector, especially in the automotive sector.

"For example we only manufacture bakkies and heavy weight trucks, while we could also be providing extra heavy weight trucks but the lack of proper skills to fix such trucks in the country is not available and as a result it would not make business sense for us to manufacture such cars," said Mr Kobayashi.

He was attending a gala dinner at the Sun City resort and casino in the North West, hosted for board members of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) by South African Tourism.

Through the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) the country aims to achieve 6 percent economic growth by 2010 and halve poverty and unemployment by 2014.

The country launched the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) in order to develop and source the critical skills, such as engineering, needed to propel the economy towards achieving AsgiSA's targets.

The establishment of an engineering university, according to Mr Kobayashi, would succeed if people were encouraged from a young age to choose engineering as a career.

"Because many young kids unlike in Japan, like to be doctors, nurses and lawyers, they would need to be encouraged and advised from a very young age of the opportunities in the automotive industry," he said.

Science and Technology Minister Mosibudi Mangena has said that engineering education is of prime importance to the economic advancement of all countries, especially in Africa, with a low number of engineers per capita.

For their part, higher education institutions in the country have agreed to increase the number of engineering graduates by an extra 1000 a year, as part of government's plan to deal with the demand for scarce skills in the country.

Government intends to recruit 1 500 engineers, 1000 educational professionals, 3 500 information technology specialist, 5 450 health and medical specialists and 1 500 agricultural science professionals.

Mr Kobayashi said Japan's success in this regard was as a result of its focus in the sector and its establishment of various engineering schools that provided practical training relevant to job needs in the market.

However, South Africa was on the right track with JIPSA, he said, adding that his company was prepared to do everything possible to ensure JIPSA's success.

"When we employ technicians in the company, we also provide them with training to enhance their skills and make sure that their skills are relevant to the needs of the industry," he said.

This training was provided by engineers from Japan, who come to South Africa specifically for this.

Earlier this year, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka visited Japan to discuss how the country could contribute to the successful implementation of AsgiSA.

There, she recommended that South African and Japanese universities establish a forum to facilitate partnerships in human resource and skills development in the context of JIPSA.

"The objectives of the forum would be to increase flows of scientific knowledge and resources between South Africa and Japan through participation in joint education, research and training programmes," said Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka.

She further outlined priority areas that South Africa had identified for cooperation with Japanese universities.

These included high-level engineering and planning skills for network industries, transport, communications and energy - all at the core of the national infrastructure programme.

In terms of trade relations between the two, in 2005, Japan was South Africa's third most important trade partner internationally and for several years has been South Africa's most important trade partner in Asia.

Japan is a large investor in South Africa despite the fact that the investment accounts for 0.3 percent of Japan's outward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

SA seeks to exploit geography

2006-11-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

Geography has become a fundamental factor in South Africa’s science policy.

“We have a philosophy – we should look at our geographical advantages: we have to look at what we are strong at, what we can give the world,” says Science and Technology Minister Mosibudi Mangena. This way, the country could attract foreign investments into the national science system.

Today, cutting-edge science is usually big science, big science is very expensive, and the country’s ability to fund such science on its own is very limited – hence, the need to attract overseas research agencies and funders.

“We realised that we were a strong environment for astronomy, both optical and radio – in the Karoo we have very clear skies and very little radio interference; hence, the Southern African Large Telescope and the Karoo Array Telescope (Kat) project,” he cites.

And South Africa has, along with Australia, been shortlisted to host the giant international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope.

Both countries combine geographical and environmental advantages with the ability to supply the modern infrastructure necessary for such a project.

Concerning the Kat radio telescope project, “this is the start of a new era in radio astronomy in our country”, he affirms.

Kat is currently planned to comprise 20 dishes, each with a diameter of 15 m.

“We’re looking at an era of great things, in which scientists from all over the world will come here and do cutting-edge research which will change how we see the universe,” he highlights.

“I’m very satisfied with the pace of our march,” he states. Most scientific and tech- nological research and development (R&D) in South Africa is conducted at some nine science councils, many dedicated discipline research institutions, and several universities.

Those science councils which undertake mainly pure or basic science fall under the Department of Science and Technology (DST); although primarily involved in applied scientific and technological R&D, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) now also falls under the DST.

In all, four science councils and several large research institutions fall under the DST; responsibility for the other five science councils and various discipline-specific research institutions are scattered across other government departments, including the National Department of Agriculture, the Department of Communications, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, the National Department of Health, the Department of Minerals and Energy, the Depart-ment of Trade and Industry and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, as well as the Department of Defence.

“We have been doing some reorganising in terms of how the science councils should be governed,” points out Mangena.

“The CSIR, for example, was placed under the DST in April 2005 – it was decided that all those doing cutting-edge research should be under the DST; those doing work in the fields of line departments should remain under those departments, but the DST should have representation on the boards or councils,” he explains.

These DST representatives on the boards or councils of non-DST science councils have the function of monitoring the quality and direction of R&D in these institutions.

“They are to make certain that they (the line department science councils) do some basic research and not just department-specific applied research,” he elucidates.

Recently, Mangena presided at the groundbreaking ceremony at the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory for the erection of the prototype dish for Kat.

“This is the first ‘new build’ of a dish specifi- cally dedicated to the technology that will be essential for a practical SKA telescope,” he highlighted in his speech. “South Africa has the engineering and design skills to ensure that this dish is a proudly South African product.

“The KAT project has demonstrated astonishing progress in a short period of time,” he pointed out.

“This progress is attributable to the alignment of priorities between government and the research community.

“Clearly, this is an indication that South Africa is truly alive with possibilities. More importantly, this level and form of innovative thinking proves that we can create a critical mass of people with very high-level expertise who can be competitive in the global knowledge eco-nomy,” he stressed.

South Africa has engineering and design skills

2006-11-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

Minister of Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena was confidenct of South Africa’s ability to develop and exploit the planned international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope to its maximum.

He was speaking at the Hartebeeshoek radio astronomy observatory, where he officially opened the construction site for the prototype dish of South Africa’s Karoo Array Telescope (Kat).

The prototype dish will be 15 m in diameter and 20 m high and will be made up of composite materials.

“South Africa has the engineering and design skills to ensure that this dish is a proudly South African product,” said the Minister.

Yeah sure...

Whatever you say

2006-11-05T09:32:00.000-08:00

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY approach to research within Africa and between Africa and the rest of the world was important for Africa’s development, said Science and Technology Minister Mosibudi Mangena.

“Technological innovation occurs in social contexts and these need to be understood. That requires a multidisciplinary approach,” Mangena said, addressing a University of the Witwatersrand conference on development-oriented training and research.

The conference is part of the university’s attempts to position itself as a continent leader in research.

Mangena said any initiatives that were aimed at breaking down barriers between the various disciplines should be encouraged.

“African universities must be at the vanguard of developing the ideas and solutions to Africa’s sustainable development.

Collaboration is widely seen as a recipe for success in driving the development agenda,” Mangena said.

SA must place an increased emphasis on technology

2006-11-03T12:12:00.000-08:00

Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of the Shuttleworth Foundation, urged South Africa to decide on a global best practice in information and communication technologies (ICT) strategy in order to best position the country for success in the technology game.

Shuttleworth cited a number of countries as setting the pace for emerging nations using progressive methods to transform themselves - from South Korea using broadband to evolve its economy and moving towards open source software as a key enabling technology, Spain driving technology into education using free software and China committing to putting all government procurement onto Linux by 2010.

"South Africa needs to consider four anchor points - skills development, the use of free or open source software, bandwidth and the regulation of telecommunications and profit or building a sustainable commercial infrastructure increasing competitiveness.

"In terms of skills development, South Africa must place an increased emphasis on technology in education, needing to increase its capacity to produce high quality IT skills. A strong commitment to free, open source software in education provides a better fit between the process of education and the framework around the open source software movement. Schools going this route can then provide almost every aspect of education as a digital tool, accelerating learning. Technical skills must also be spread into communities, addressing education outside of the formal schooling system. Additionally, the management and mentoring of skills is key - successful countries focus not only on the technology itself, but also the management around it."

Looking at the uptake of free software, this type of technology facilitates the creation of infrastructure for business, with emerging giants like Amazon and Google using free software as the cornerstone of their infrastructure strategies. According to Shuttleworth, the cost effective nature of free software, through the elimination of licensing costs, and the ability to move beyond this and keep the infrastructure alive and sustained are compelling arguments for open source software adoption.

"In terms of bandwidth and telecommunications, countries that have been successful in this respect have adopted a multi-strategy approach. Developing countries like South Africa also need to take the rural market into consideration and put different structures into place for each different market level. The emergence of wireless technologies will change the local landscape, as well as VoIP, which is now legal in South Africa despite some constraints."

Shuttleworth believes that South African government needs to take several steps to catapult the country into the future. The first step would be to make achievable commitments, for example, committing to run between five and fifteen percent of government laptops on Linux or free software by 2007. Next, South Africa must increase the ability of education to produce graduates that are as comfortable using free software as its proprietary counterpart, giving them the ability to choose the best tool for the job.

"For government, the key spaces to drive change are areas where benefits can be quickly demonstrated by moving to free software, such as anywhere with a large number of standardised desktops, where benefits such as an increase in productivity, less downtime and improved change management can be seen."

Software piracy is flourishing

2006-10-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

Software and computer technology businesses have called on Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa to make changes to the “archaic and outdated” Copyright Act, which they claim has allowed software piracy to flourish.

The Business Software Alliance (BSA), an organisation that represents the interests of software publishers and computer technology companies, called on Mpahlwa to speed up amendments to the act, which had been in the pipeline for about eight years.

The organisation said SA’s piracy rate stood at 36% of all products sold, representing more than R950m in lost revenue to the economy.

Law firm Bowman Gilfillan, which acts for the BSA, said that government issued draft amendments in April 2000 that would have improved copyright protection for software. The firm said these amendments were withdrawn towards the end of 2000. No further amendments have been published since.

In a letter to Mpahlwa the law firm states that the act is “seriously outdated” and does not conform with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (Trips). SA is a signatory to the agreement — an international treaty administered by the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The agreement sets down minimum standards for most forms of intellectual property regulation within WTO member countries.

Bowman Gilfillan said it had isolated specific areas of concern which would not only place copyright holders in a better position to protect their rights, but would also place SA in a position where it would be able to meet its obligations in terms of the WTO agreement.

Nuclear safety in the new South Africa

2006-10-10T03:40:00.000-07:00

With the regime very keen on nuclear energy it's nice to know about existing projects. About 5 000 former employees of the Pelindaba nuclear facility may be suffering from diseases linked to chemical and radiation exposure.

This figure emerged from a survey of ex-employees of the SA Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) at Pelindaba, outside Pretoria.

The investigation covered 208 former workers and found that 72 people had "probable occupational diseases".

The report said this could mean that 5 100 people from the nuclear facility's former work pool of 30 000 workers had occupational diseases.

During the investigation, 15 of the 208 workers died. Necsa is wholly owned by the State.

The survey was commissioned by the anti-nuclear lobby group, Earthlife Africa, after former employees had complained of contracting diseases from radiation.

Mashile Phalane of Earthlife said the organisation began investigating following the death of a young graduate who died after inhaling gas at the facility.

Waiting for the minister

2006-09-29T03:03:00.000-07:00

INDIAN President Abdul Kalam has invited South Africa to participate in the creation of an internet-based “world knowledge platform” to promote science, technology, and economic development. The South African minister of Science and Technology was so overwhelmed that he failed to respond.

Kalam said the platform, which would be based on next generation broadband internet connectivity, would integrate the core competencies of the partner countries to build and market “knowledge products” for economic development.

Kalam made his proposal to further build on the e-network that India has offered to African countries in a video address from New Delhi to the International Science Innovation and Technology Exhibition in Sandton yesterday.

The Indian president also delivered this year’s Phillip Tobias lecture at the exhibition via video and was the recipient of the Tobias Award.

The purpose, he said, was knowledge creation, dissemination, storing, and re-use, which would involve, “the co-ordinated design and delivery of complex systems in the knowledge domain”.

The areas to be covered are energy, ways of enhancing agricultural productivity, water treatment, disease diagnosis and screening, drug delivery, food preservation and storage, health, pest control, hardware and software development, automotive hardware and software embedded in devices, and genetic and stem-cell research.

Although Science and Technology Minister Mosibudi Mangena was at the exhibition, there was no response from the department to Kalam’s proposal.

The proposal follows an initiative launched by Kalam in an address in SA two years ago for the creation of a pan-African e network for the use of Indian satellites for tele-medicine and tele-education between African countries and India.

What the minister does in his spare time

2006-09-26T02:58:00.000-07:00

Mosibudi Mangena, the science and technology minister, seldomly makes the news in his official capacity. It turns out that he he has other tricks up his sleeve. He has retained the leadership of the Azanian People's Organisation (Azapo).

Mangena was elected unopposed as party president at the Party's 18 biennial congress held in Hammanskraal this weekend. The congress was held under the theme: ‘building the people's alternative’, and was aimed at launching a revamped party to become a viable opposition to the ruling party. It was expected that new leaders would be chosen to lead a revamped Azapo. Despite this party's four top jobs were all elected unopposed.

Mosibudi Mangena, Azapo's president, says: “I have been the president for the past 11 yrs and I asked the organisation to elect someone else so I could pass on the baton, but they said no, and have requested me to carry the organisation forward to the next level.”

Mangena says the main resolution taken at the congress was to take an active part in the eradication of poverty, and to end the problem of landless people. He said the party also decided that lawyers were not the people to decide on moral issues like same-sex marriages.

Living it up

2006-09-22T01:37:00.000-07:00

The minister of Science and Technology doesn't make the news very often. No we know shy, he is too busy wining and dining to do any actual work. His department has emerged as one of the big spenders in government with millions per annum going towards food, travel and accommodation.

Questions to Science and Technology Minister Mosibudi Mangena revealed hotel accommodation in 2004/5 amounted to R3 252 385,28. His department's restaurant expenses in the same year amounted to R1 077 130,59 and travel costs R12 965 902,32.

Mangena said in 2005/6 hotel accommodation came to R6 049 053.66, restaurant expenses to R1 614 090,31 and travel costs to R17 210 212,99.

From April this year R3 224 641,35 has already been forked out for accommodation, R450 138,35 for restaurant expenses and R9 747 686,20 for restaurant expenses.

Meanwhile, Mangena said a "lunch event" in the Old Assembly restaurant at parliament to celebrate the delivery of the Department of Science and Technology's (DST) Budget vote during May 2006 amounted to R33 757,70.

He said the money came from the department's budget as part of funds allocated for the annual activities of the department. Of that amount food, decor and refreshments came to R26 537,70. Entertainment cost R3 100,00 and promotional items R4 120,00 for the 166 invitees.

Another junket coming up

2006-09-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

It's hard to come up with any dirt on South African minister of Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena. It seems that he limits himself to stating the obvious and hosting science fairs. The taxpayer is paying and hoping the get value for their money.

Without science and scientists, Africa is doomed to fail in the implementation of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG), Minister of Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena said at a media briefing on Monday.

"We need to be a nation of scientists not only because we are competing with other nations, but more importantly so that we can fight enemies such as poverty, infectious diseases like HIV/Aids, malaria or tuberculosis and lifestyle-related illnesses such as malnutrition, obesity and diabetes.

"We need science to calculate and mitigate the effects of global warming, severe storms, over-fishing, pollution and a host of other problems," he said.

The eight millennium goals, which must be fulfilled by 2015, are: the eradication of extreme poverty by half; the achievement of universal primary education; the promotion of gender equality; the reduction of the death rate among children under the age of five by two thirds; the reduction of the maternal death rate by three quarters; reversal of the spread of HIV/Aids, malaria and other major diseases; sustainable access to safe drinking water; and the development of open trading and financial systems that do not discriminate.

One of the ways the Department of Science and Technology will be fulfilling the eighth MDG -- the development of further open trading and financial systems and making available the benefits of new technological discoveries -- is by hosting the International Science Innovation and Technology Exhibition (Insite) at the Sandton convention centre from September 25 to 27.

Entry to Insite will be free to the public. There will be science shows, seminars and a speaker's corner where scientific and technological challenges and solutions for the developing and developed world will be discussed.

Report card for minister

2006-09-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

Low-key personally, Mangena has shown intellectual verve and political savvy in raising the public profile of science and technology. Mangena's department shed arts and culture in 2003; he was appointed last year.

Challenging areas remain, though. The National Research Foundation, which falls under Mangena, has drawn flak for its poor internal management and delivery record. The foundation will present Mangena with another challenge in mid-2006, when the contract of its president, Khotso Mokhele, expires. Mangena's other looming personnel problem will be Adam's departure in March to head up the Nuclear Energy Corporation.

There is also a fundamental problem facing the country with regard to science and maths teaching. Last year, there were only 22 860 maths and 25 539 science higher-grade passes out of 467 985 matriculants. This is simply not enough to meet South Africa’s skills needs.

The biggest problem is that the teaching profession is not able to keep enough good maths and science teachers, and has too many weak teachers in these subjects.

A study released by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) earlier this year found that two-thirds of educators who were considering leaving the education profession were in the scarce fields of technology, natural sciences, and economics. At the same time, according to Pan African Advisory Services CEO Iraj Abedian, “the fact is a number of those teachers are ill-qualified to be at school at all”.

Although strictly speaking this problem falls under the Education Department, Science and Technology should be making a far more concerted effort to address the problem and, until it does so, the programmes that ultimately benefit those with a full education will be lost on an ever increasing number of South Africans.

Mail & Guardian
Democratic Alliance