Cabinet has approved the 2022 Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Decadal Plan, which serves as an implementation guide of the 2019 White Paper on STI.

Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, said on Thursday that Cabinet approved the draft plan in March 2021 and has since been enriched through further consultation with relevant stakeholders.

The plan has five thematic focus areas which are as follows:

– modernisation of agricultural, manufacturing and mining sectors;

– exploitation of new sources of growth, particularly the digital and circular economy;

– large research and innovation programmes in the areas of health and energy;

– utilising STI to support a capable state; and

– addressing three societal grand challenges, namely climate change and environmental sustainability, the future of education, skills development and work, and the future of society.

“The first Decadal Plan for 2008-2018, together with the 2002 National Research and Development Strategy, served as the basis of the current Decadal Plan. These plans advance the government’s approach to innovation in South Africa,” Gungubele said.

Cabinet said that the document will be made public through the Department of Science and Innovation’s (DSI) website: www.dst.gov.za.

Source: South African Government News Agency