9 June 2025

We greet honourable members borrowing from the powerful words of Anton Muziwakhe Lembede who once said and I quote “A man may gain the highest university degrees and diplomas but he is not better than a well-trained and industrious farmer or carpenter. A leader in agriculture, carpentry, etc; is just as good as a leader in politics, science, education and arts.” We reiterate these powerful words because we firmly believe that standing here, as leaders in politics, we are no better than all the young people out there who have different expertise and skills, instead we carry their aspiration and we are very much relatable to them because we all live in the same South Africa. The injustices of the past subjected our country to an unequal society which resulted in creation of economic exclusion. There was therefore a need for the democratic government to address all the challenges we were faced with in the past including the issues of inequality and economic growth. Evidently, looking at the work that has been done by government in the previous administrations, we can attest to the efforts that have been made, also acknowledging the gaps that still exist and all other systematic challenges. We make reference to the work that was done in the previous administrations to establish that indeed the transformation agenda which ultimately contributes to economic growth has always been in the books of our government.

Science, Technology and Innovation have become the most critical areas of how society is driven, and they have an immense contribution to the economic growth of our country. The South African government has invested in research and development through many initiatives including the South African Research Chair Initiative which was established in 2006 by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation. This initiative is aimed at strengthening and improving research and innovation capacity in public universities. Such initiatives have transformed the country’s research and innovation competitiveness and have also responded the social and economic challenges. However, a lot can still done to expand the scope of government and the private sector in making sure that innovation is resourced in order to create and inclusive economy. The country is battling with unemployment and young people in the main account for a very large percentage in the overall unemployment rate.

This requires joint efforts between government and private sector to create and economic environment that allows young people to explore their innovative ideas that will enable their participation in the mainstream economy. The private needs to aid the government in prioritizing the Special Economic Zones project for its completion as it has a potential of creating employment for young people. This project would potentially allow young people to explore all opportunities available for them and challenge them to be job creators than job seekers.

Investing in Science and innovation comes with greater impact not only in addressing the issues of unemployment, but it also contributes is resolving the societal issues. Part of the challenges that can be resolved by technological advancement are unemployment, healthcare issues and climate change. Innovation in automation can create new jobs especially in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This means that the manufacturing sector needs to invest more in creating robotics which will automate repetitive tasks done by human being, that will potentially increase productivity and quality in companies. That subsequently challenges companies and the government to reskill and upskill human workers.

We need to strengthen collaboration with institutions like the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in order to foster innovation driven growth in the country. The CSIR supports both the public and the private sector through directed research that is aligned with the country’s priorities. We believe that such institutions need to be adequately resourced and supported to better improve the innovation discourse. We recognize the continued efforts of government in advancing technology and innovation in our country by supporting Youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. This is a very important approach that focuses on science and develops critical thinking which assist young people with the introduction of new technologies.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution(4IR) demands that young people must have technological and digital skills as well as policy environment that enables them to participate in emerging digital innovations. Studies show that the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has led to drastic changes to humanity and overturned the way in which people live and interact. It is further illustrating that in all fields, economies and industries, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterized by a variety of new technologies that span the physical, digital and biological worlds. Technological advancement through various stages of industrial revolution has been the driving force behind the growth of many economies, particularly in the developed countries. It is therefore important that we recognize the efforts that have been made by government in building innovation hubs in high schools and universities. We can name a few of those, WITS Innovation Centre, DUT Innovation Hub and Southern African Wildlife College’s Innovation Technology. However, this is still at a very slow pace and needs more catalysts.

It is a known fact that part of the struggles that young people are faced with is the systematic challenges that gave birth to the economic imbalances. We believe that it is for this reason of appreciating the challenges that still exist, 31 years into democracy that the government has something called SA Connect in place. This is a broadband policy that is aimed at meeting technological goals of the National Development Plan and bridge connectivity gaps that exist in underserved district municipalities. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies reported that as of 2023, 80% of public schools have access to internet connection, nevertheless, majority of these schools connect through 3G/LTE which is not ideal for teaching and learning. This poses a challenge on the government close these gaps go bridge the digital divide.

Honorable members, it is therefore important that we continue to support the implementation of government policies that speak to science, technology and innovation. This is so that young people will be empowered through education and training which will expose them to new sets of skills and opportunities that are presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, that will subsequently allow them to participate in economic growth and job creation. We also believe Chairperson that industrialization can help the country in building an economy that will incorporate new technologies and thriving small businesses.

The private sector needs to match the efforts of government in changing the society, growing an inclusive economy and resourcing innovation. We believe that the joint efforts will have impact and allow young people to be economic drivers.