The SRA Symposium - College of Medicine

have done. There is no sustained effort to develop indigenous knowledge, despite the availability
of this advantage. This is a serious omission since indigenous knowledge is what should secure for
Africa a niche in the globalizing world economy, as is the case with the developing countries of the
east.
Because of the continent’s low level of development of science & technology, 54 African countries
are now poorer than they were in 1990 (Hewett 2004:10) despite the fact that some OECD countries
have been moving their R&D operations to the developing world (mainly India, China and
Singapore). Apart from the science and technology infrastructure that these countries have, they
also have the advantage of much cheaper labour. For example, South Africa pays US$2.17 per hour
in manufacturing against US 60 cents in India and US 50 cents in China (Mouton 2004:12). The
challenge for Africa is for it to upgrade its technology intensive products. In fact, India is applying
what it calls its 18th Century technology (meaning indigenous technology) as one of the means
of attaining its planned economic growth of 7-8% of its GDP. India’s biotechnology industry is
growing and is expected to compete with that of the West very soon. In view of India’s success,
Kenyatta University in Kenya has set up a Faculty of Traditional Medicine. This paper argues that
the development of indigenous technology is only possible through a well managed innovation
system which is based on a strong science system, with adequate funding systems. It is recognized,
however, that the region does not have sufficient resources to fund a sustained innovation system,
given that in the US, Heher reports 1 invention disclosure for US$2.5m of research expenditure
[or between 20 and 50 papers published] (Heher 2004:11). This paper will use as cases, South
Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Botswana.
South Africa
Papers
South Africa has historically been the economic hub of the region. It is much more developed than
any of the SADC countries in all respects, especially in terms of the infrastructure for technology
based innovation. The country has moved from a situation in the 1980s where its science and technology
institutions were autonomous and unrelated to a position where the country now boasts
the most elaborate S&T infrastructure and the best functional research management system in the
region. In particular, South Africa has a fairly well developed and relatively well funded science
system with tertiary institutions and research councils. It also has a technology and innovation
system which is backed by scientific councils, R&D institutions and an S&T administrative structure
that is championed by the Department (Ministry) of Science & Technology which oversees
a number of advisory councils on research and innovation. In that country, research and innovation
management is done at different levels of the science and technology systems, in the public as
well as the private sector. For example, there is an overarching framework within which all public
S&T endeavours operate, whether in the tertiary institutions, in the public sector or in the private
sector. This is the National Research & Development Strategy which was adopted in 2002, and
through which the government has re-defined the country’s science and technology system as a
national system of innovation.
Then there is an elaborate structure for promoting and funding innovation. The major funding
body for the public tertiary institutions is the government, which gives these institutions a subvention
to cover the greater part of their budgets. The government specifies that 10% of the subvention
it gives is for research. In addition, there are many other ways in which the government funds
not just the science system (i.e. tertiary institutions and research councils) but the technology development
and transfer (or innovation) activities. Central to the government’s effort in this regard
is the National Research Foundation (NRF) which, as an intermediary institution between policy
and research providers, operates different funding schemes as a way of implementing the National
Research & Development Strategy. NRF’s funding system is multi-pronged in that it aims to grow
both the country’s science system as well as its innovation, through different funding programmes.
2005 Symposium Proceedings Book 165