UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT

UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT
This counter-argument agitates the promise of a huge
internal market and the opportunities that it would offer for
the development of economies of scale and scope. Another
convincing argument arises from the increasingly urgent
requirement for Africa to engage in a unified manner with a
world that is increasingly characterized by economic blocs
and large emerging economic powers.
An important aspect of economic integration would be
the transition from national innovation systems to a single
regional innovation system. Along with the establishment
of free trade areas in order to construct the planned
common market with full mobility of goods and services,
capital and people, this would require the convergence
of formal institutions, including labour market legislation,
environmental regulation and policies governing
competition. The opening up of borders to the free
movement of people and services would also enable informal
cross-border pools of tacit knowledge and social capital to
emerge. The ultimate goal would be the emergence of a
regional innovation system on the back of the development
of an increasingly diversified economic system.
The AU-NEPAD African Action Plan for 2010–2015 has
identified a number of obstacles to the evolution of national
innovation systems across the region which resonate with
those identified by the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic
Development Plan back in 2003, namely:
n SADC economies are dominated by agriculture and mining
with a poorly developed manufacturing sector;
n The GERD/GDP ratio is significantly lower in most SADC
countries than the 1% benchmark set by the African Union
in 2003 for the African continent;
n Governments offer few incentives for private-sector
investment in R&D;
n There are serious shortages of scientific and technological
skills at all levels (from artisans and technicians to
engineers and scientists); this shortage is exacerbated by
the ongoing brain drain;
n School education in science and technology is poor,
primarily due to a lack of qualified teachers and
inappropriate curricula; this type of education is also
heavily biased against girls and women;
n There is generally poor protection of intellectual property
rights in legislation; and
n There is little co-operation in science and technology
across the region.
KEY TARGETS FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA
n Raise GERD in SADC countries to at least 1% of GDP by
2015;
n Ensure that 50% of decision-making positions in the
public sector in SADC countries are held by women by
2015;
n Increase trade among SADC countries to at least 35% of
total SADC trade, compared to 10% in 2008;
n Increase the share of manufacturing in SADC countries
to 25% of GDP by 2015;
n Achieve 100% connectivity to the regional power grid
for all SADC member states by 2012;
n Raise the share of public expenditure on agriculture to
10% of GDP in all SADC countries;
n Raise the GERD/GDP ratio in Botswana from 0.26% in
2012 to over 2% by 2016;
n Raise public expenditure on R&D in Mauritius to 1% of
GDP by 2025, with a further 0.5% of GDP to come from
the private sector;
n Focus at least 60% of university education in Zimbabwe
on developing skills in science and technology;
n Generate 100 000 PhDs in South Africa by 2030;
n Generate 100 PhDs by 2024 from Angola’s new Centre of
Excellence for Science Applied to Sustainability.
REFERENCES
AfDB (2013) African Economic Outlook 2013. Special Thematic
Edition: Structural Transformation and Natural Resources.
African Development Bank.
AfDB (2011) Republic of Mozambique: Country Strategy Paper
2011–2015. African Development Bank.
AfDB, OECD and UNDP (2014) African Economic Outlook.
Country notes. African Development Bank, Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development and United
Nations Development Programme.
Cassiolato, J. E. and H. Lastres (2008) Discussing innovation
and development: Converging points between the Latin
American school and the Innovation Systems perspective?
Working Paper Series (08-02). Global Network for
Economics of Learning, Innovation and Competence
Building System (Globelics).
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