Minister Blade Nzimande: Post Science, Technology and Innovation Dept Budget Vote 2025/26 media briefing

Programme Director, Mr Veli Mbele
Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Honourable Dr Nomalungelo Gina
Director-General of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Mlungisi Cele
Deputy Directors-General
Chairpersons and CEOs of our entities
Officials of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation

Earlier today, we delivered our 2025/26 Budget Vote Speech. We made this delivery fully conscious of the global and national challenges we face and the need to ensure that we continue to use science, technology, and innovation to respond to our national priorities.

Therefore, guided by our country’s National Development Plan 2030, our 2019 White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation and the Decadal Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation (2022–2030), we used our 2025/26 Budget Speech to reflect on the successes and challenges of the previous financial year and to also articulate our Department’s commitments and strategic priorities over the next four.

Progress in key strategic areas

We reported on progress in our efforts to modernise key sectors of the economy such as mining, manufacturing, agriculture, health innovation, energy security and the digital economy.

We also gave a progress update in other critical areas such as astronomy, implementing the Innovation Fund programme, advancing indigenous knowledge systems, the development of critical scientific skills and the important issue of the transformation of our National System of Innovation.

We also committed to diversify our international relations through BRICS, South-South cooperation, the EU, use our G20 Presidency to address our national priorities and that of the African continent, and to continue our support for Palestinian institutions and researchers.

We also reported on progress on the work done by the Working Group to advise me on the impact of the withdrawal of funding by the US for key scientific projects between the US and South African research and academic institutions.

Most fundamentally, we also used our 2025/26 Budget Speech to commit to the following strategic priorities over the next four years:

• To intensify efforts to increase the Gross Expenditure on Research and Development to 1.5% as per the NDP, including a strategic compact between organised business, government and labour to agree on its future funding

• To accelerate the transformation and expansion of STI human resources and research workforce, among others, the Presidential PhD Programme

• To strengthen the coordination and direction of our National System of Innovation (NSI) through the Inter-Ministerial Committee on STI, Presidential Plenary for STI and policy coordination instruments

• To maintain and upgrade key science infrastructure and projects such as the SKA, NuMeRi, and the development of credible pandemic preparedness capacity

• To build strategic innovation compacts by aligning the strategic focus areas of our Decadal Plan with the corresponding line function departments

• To mobilise additional funding and resources to raise the scale of our key programmes such as artificial intelligence, energy security, space, vaccine innovation manufacturing, and indigenous knowledge systems

• To increase public awareness of the important contributions of the NSI to human development through an aggressive public engagement and communication campaign

In conclusion, all the commitments contained in our 2025/26 Budget Speech are anchored on the understanding that our country cannot achieve its development goals if we fail to make a meaningful investment in our country’s scientific capabilities.

Therefore, over the next four years, we will continue with our efforts to raise greater awareness about the work that is done by our Department and its entities, and to increase the scale and impact of our Department’s work.