Africans should use home grown initiative in STI

By Violet Mengo

SCIENCE experts and officials attending the first Africa Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation in Nairobi, Kenya are seeking African solutions to African problems.

The delegates are calling for African governments to fund and promote research and development on the continent.

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Technology Division Director Aida Opolu-Mensah said during the official opening that for a long time Africa’s science and technology program has been set by the continent’s development partners.

 “We need to be in the “driving seat” if Africa is the new pole of growth, the continent has to be in the driving seat,” Mr Mensah said.

 He said Africa has to invest its own resources in the science and technology that they want to use in order to achieve new growth.

Mr Mensah called upon African countries to fund science and technology programs from their national budgets, not to rely on “gifts” from international partners.

In 2006, the African Union set a target for all member countries to spend at least one percent of their gross domestic product on science research and development.

According to research from an A.U. development program, known as NEPAD, only Uganda, Malawi and South Africa have reached that target.

 African economies have grown rapidly during the past decade, and are predicted to continue expanding by most estimates. The International Monetary Fund expects African economies to grow by nearly six percent this in 2012.

 African Development Bank Vice President Kamal El Khesten pointed out that growth does not necessarily equate to development.

“This growth was not satisfactorily inclusive, in spite of double-digit growth rates in many countries; the occurrence of jobless growth has become the order of the day. The challenge is to address the disparity between skills development and the actual requirements of the labor market,” he said.

Mr El Khestan said the continent needs to invest in higher education to prepare for jobs in science and technology for young people who are at the centre at attention of the conference in terms of youth employment.

There is no shortage of advice and guidance on science and technology development in Africa. The African Union has made numerous declarations on the subject, starting with the 2005 consolidated plan of action. The United Nations has its own recommendations, as do most international development agencies working in the continent.

 Association for the Development of Eduction in Africa Chairman Dzingai Mutumbuka said many of these good ideas are never put into action. He hopes this forum will be different.

 “It is time that we as Africans move away from arrogant conference resolutions to implementation,” he said.

The three days forum started on Sunday and hopes to take some concrete actions in designing possible responses to water, energy and biodiversity needs in Africa.

Africa needs to invest in science, technology and innovation

By VIOLET MENGO

THE first African Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation taking place in Nairobi Kenya has highlighted the need to invest in this key sector to foster sustainable growth and development and provide job opportunities for youth and women.

And African countries have been called upon to embrace and utilise relevant science, technology and creatively innovate to ensure viable development.

Speaking at the official opening of the conference, Kenyan Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Margaret Kamar said African countries will only be able to effectively confront some of the pressing challenges of development when STI is effectively utilised.

“The problems of youth unemployment, inadequacies in human capital development and inclusive growth will be achieved when we (Africans) take seriously STIs,” Ms Kamar said.

The Forum is an African initiative and looks at achievements made in this domain across the continent, highlighting best practices and policies.

It also seeks to strengthen North-South and South-South cooperation, partnerships between the private and public sectors and cooperation between institutions of higher education.

The conference is sponsored by UNESCO with the African Union Commission (AU), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the Kenyan Ministry of Higher Education Science and Technology.

Ms Karmar said the conference is going to provide an excellent opportunity to share experiences especially best practices from all over the world, on science, technology and innovation policies, strategies and mechanisms.

The STI is an African initiative aimed at raising importance of science and technologies among policy makers, private sector, schools and society in general.

The Kenyan minister said promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship; especially those which have greatest potential for effective creation of youth employment should be encouraged on the continent.

“We will hear of measures that have successfully harnessed science, technology and innovation to enhance the participation of women, youth and other marginalised groups in societies,” she said.

She said all these will create an informed and enabling environment for African countries to make urgent decisions on the importance of investment in STI.

Participants include experts, scientists, decision makers, youth, academics, representatives of the private sector and civil society.

Among some of the subjects tackled include the need for graduates to have the skills required by employers, how funding can be increased for African research and development, and innovative ways to improve youth employment.

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) director, ICT science and technology Division Aida Opoku Mensah said If Africa has to continue registering positive economic growth, there is a need to address Africa’s innovation system.

“A critical foundation of any innovation system is education and investing in its youth,” Mr Mensah said. This is because education system plays a vital role in human development and entrepreneurship

 Mr Mensah said competitions that cultivate in students enquiry and problem-solving skills and encourage them to address real life challenges should be encouraged.

According to UNESCO's Science Report 2010, research and development (R&D) in Africa attracts significantly less public funding than other sectors such as education or health. Only some 0.3% of GDP is dedicated to R&D on average across the continent. This is seven times less than the investment made in industrialised countries.

The Report shows that education is another obstacle. Access to higher education remains limited, and in 2008 enrolment was below 4 percent in one country out of four.

Additionally, the report observes that brain drain is severely affecting the continent: in 2009, the Network of African Science Academies estimated that at least one-third of Africa's scientists and technology graduates were living and working in developed countries.

ENDS