DOCSLIB.ORG

CSIR ANNUAL REPORT 201819.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
CSIR ANNUAL REPORT 201819.Pdf ANNUAL 2018/19 PO Box 395, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa Published by: CSIR Communication Enquiries: Tel +27 12 841 2911 • Email: [email protected] ISBN-13 978-0-7988-5643-0 “The objects of the CSIR are, through directed and particularly multi-disciplinary research and technological innovation, to foster, in the national interest and in fields which in its opinion should receive preference, industrial and scientific development, either by itself or in co-operation with principals from the private or public sectors, and thereby to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the people of the Republic, and to perform any other functions that may be assigned to the CSIR by or under this Act.” (Scientific Research Council Act 46 of 1988, as amended by Act 27 of 2014) CONTENTS The CSIR at a glance ......................................................2 From our leadership .......................................................6 Organisational highlights .............................................. 24 Financial sustainability and governance .......................... 66 Executive report ........................................................... 87 Consolidated financial statements ................................ 101 Knowledge dissemination ............................................ 148 Abbreviations ............................................................ 175 1 INTRODUCTION THE CSIR AT A GLANCE 2 342 TOTAL STAFF BASE 1 608 1 610 1 041 *SET BASE BLACK SOUTH FEMALE SOUTH AFRICANS AFRICANS *Science, engineering and technology figures as at 31 March 2019 2 CSIR ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 INTRODUCTION • FROM OUR LEADERSHIP ○ ORGANISATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS ○ FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND GOVERNANCE ○ EXECUTIVE REPORT ○ CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ○ KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION ○ 320 ABBREVIATIONS ○ Staff WITH DOCTORAL QUALificatioNS 536 PUBLicatioN EQUIVALENTS 586 staff WITH MASTER’S-LEVEL 319 QUALificatioNS JOURNAL articLES ±R126 m totaL INVESTMENT IN HCD 22 NEW PATENTS 50 NEW TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATORS CSIR ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 3 1 INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE CSIR The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is a leading scientific and technology research organisation that undertakes directed multidisciplinary research and technological innovation that contribute to the improved quality of life of South Africans. The organisation plays a key role in supporting government’s programmes BUILD AND TRANSFORM through directed research that is HUMAN CAPITAL aligned with the country’s priorities, 2 342 CSIR total staff headcount the organisation’s mandate and its 1 608 Science, engineering science, engineering and technology and technology staff competences. (62% are black and 36% are female) The CSIR fosters partnerships with a Employees are employed network of partner organisations and 82.5% in the professional and clients, regionally and abroad, as part skilled categories of a global sphere of influence on Employees have doctoral matters of technology. Our national 320 qualifications footprint is testament to our commitment to serving diverse communities and 586 Employees have master’s-level sectors, with the CSIR’s main campus qualifications located in Pretoria and our regional offices in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Stellenbosch – in proximity to CONDUCT HIGH-QUALITY applicable industries across the country. RESEARCH TO FOSTER SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT We draw expertise from diverse research • In total, 45% of CSIR articles were fields to provide integrated solutions and published in journals with an impact factor interventions to support a broad range (IF) of 2 – 4.99 (in the top 10% of journals) of national development programmes, as and 9% of CSIR articles were published set out in the National Development Plan. in journals with an IF of five or higher (i.e. in the top 6% of journals) Impact is at the core of the organisation’s • At the end of 2018/19, the CSIR generated business and the objectives have been R1.746 billion in contract R&D income crafted to ensure that we achieve this. 4 CSIR ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 INTRODUCTION • FROM OUR LEADERSHIP ○ ORGANISATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS ○ FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND GOVERNANCE ○ EXECUTIVE REPORT ○ CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ○ KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION ○ ABBREVIATIONS ○ Our ability to contribute to a CONDUCT RELEVANT RESEARCH better future for all is illustrated TO FOSTER INDUSTRIAL in our unique value proposition, DEVELOPMENT which is the multidisciplinary 50 Technology demonstrators. nature of our skills base. These are a lead indicator Two-thirds of our staff consist of technology transfer of scientists, engineers and R5.42 m Royalty and licence income technologists who share a passion for shaping a better future through science and technology INFRASTRUCTURE RENEWAL innovation. Our innovations are AND DEVELOPMENT made possible through our state- of-the-art research infrastructure • Exceeded the annual target of and some of the brightest minds ≥ R61 million and invested R74 million who call the CSIR home. in property, plant and equipment It is this combination of excellence in research, highly skilled staff FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY and world-class infrastructure that AND GOVERNANCE puts the CSIR at the cutting-edge of research and technological R7.7 m Net profit in 2018/19 innovation to improve the quality of life of South Africans. CSIR ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 5 2 FROM OUR LEADERSHIP MINISTER’s foREWORD Dr Blade Nzimande Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology In the period since democracy, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has built an impressive portfolio of research and innovation capabilities that has positioned the organisation as a pioneering innovation leader on the continent, with a global impact. The CSIR has a critical role to play in addressing issues As a public entity, reporting to the Department of plaguing our economic advancement, particularly the Science and Technology (DST), the CSIR remains critical triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. for government to realise the National Development Plan (vision 2030) and the Nine-Point-Plan, guided by our This role is embedded in its mandate to foster scientific White Paper. and industrial development to improve the quality of life of all South Africans, particularly the youth, women and I therefore congratulate the CSIR for embarking on a people with disabilities. strategy to realign its role to become more effective in driving innovation-led research and development in It is undeniable that South Africa’s investment in research response to the massive developmental challenges of our and development (R&D) has been constrained in recent economy and society. If this strategy is executed correctly, years. However, the CSIR demonstrated through its it could position the CSIR in the forefront of the drive to innovative outputs that investment in R&D is critical for build a national innovation system that is central to the our country’s overall development and prosperity. strategic goals of the White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation (March, 2019). THE CSIR IS The fact that the new CSIR strategy is rooted in ENCOURAGED technologies for the future, bodes well for South Africa’s readiness for the era of the fourth industrial revolution TO IMPLEMENT (4IR) and its many contradictory opportunities and MORE LONG- challenges. TERM SUstaiNABLE ENGAGEMENT The CSIR has also ensured that it builds and transforms PROGRAMMES. its human capital base to better reflect the demography THE CSIR HAS and strategic needs of our country. Out of a total staff STEADILY BUILT headcount of 2 342, 1 608 make up the science, A STRONG engineering and technology base. Of these, 62% are REPUtatioN FOR black and 36% are female. EXCELLENCE AND Some 82.5% which makes up the majority of the CSIR TRANSFORMatioN. employees are employed in the professional and skilled categories; 320 have doctoral qualifications and 586 have master’s level qualifications. 6 CSIR ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 INTRODUCTION ○ FROM OUR LEADERSHIP • ORGANISATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS ○ FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND GOVERNANCE ○ EXECUTIVE REPORT ○ CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ○ KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION ○ ABBREVIATIONS ○ I am pleased to note the overall progress and In order to contribute to a transformed, stronger and achievements of the organisation in the year under efficient National System of Innovation, as a Department, review, especially on projects and research interventions part of our responsibility is to fund students and that government is directly funding. researchers to ensure that we have sufficient pipeline of researchers who also reflect the demographic landscape The outputs of the Biomanufacturing Industry of our country. Development Centre are commendable. The centre supports small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) We therefore remain committed to ensuring that we by giving them access to world-class biomanufacturing promote diversity and employment equity across facilities and research expertise. organisations under our mandate. To date, the Centre has supported 31 enterprises; has We appointed the CSIR to manage the funding of 89 products that are either in market evaluation stage or postgraduate bursaries through the DST/CSIR Interbursary transferred to SMMEs and has also signed 14 licences. Support Programme for key strategic areas as identified by the department and which also align to the CSIR’s Over a period of four years, 183 new permanent jobs research activities. have been created
Load more

Recommended publications
  • CQGR Booming Africa
    NOV. 20, 2012 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 22 PAGES 521-548 WWW.GLOBALRESEARCHER.COM Booming Africa IS AN EAST ASIA-STYLE BOOM UNDER WAY? nce considered hopeless, much of sub-Saharan Africa is booming. Seven of the world’s 10 fastest- growing economies currently are in Africa. High prices for the continent’s oil and mineral exports have brought a surge of government revenue and investment, but the growth is occurring in O commodity-poor countries as well. Better governance, less war and the rapid spread of cell phones and other communication technologies are fostering growth even in nations with few natural resources. Debt for - giveness and the rise of China, India and other emerging markets as trading partners and sources of investment also have spurred economies forward. Demographers say that with the continent’s working-age population projected to expand by a third by 2020, Africa could benefit from a “demographic dividend” that would fuel sustained economic growth, even as populations in developed coun - tries and Asia are growing older. Yet, the population boom also poses challenges: Africa’s economies must provide enough jobs for the growing number of workers with expectations of a better life. Construction cranes punctuate the skyline of Luanda, Angola’s capital, where a building boom is being financed in part by high world prices for the country’s oil exports. As in other oil-exporting African countries, a flood of petro-dollars has fueled Angola’s robust growth — more than 14 percent annually in recent years — despite a sluggish global economy. PUBLISHED BY CQ PRESS, AN IMPRINT OF SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC.
    [Show full text]
  • Frank Nabarro: a Journey Through Science and Society
    Obituary South African Journal of Science 103, March/April 2007 99 search Group (AORG), an amazing gathering of talented individuals who Frank Nabarro: A journey through included Maurice Wilkes, Patrick Black- ett, Andrew Huxley and Nevill Mott. The head of AORG was Brigadier Basil science and society Schonland, who was later to become the first president of the South African Coun- A.G. Every* cil for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and to play an important role in the recruitment of Nabarro to the Univer- N A CAREER SPANNING ALMOST SEVENTY YEARS, FRANK NABARRO ACHIEVED WORLD RENOWN sity of the Witwatersrand (Wits). Nabarro for his pioneering contributions to the theory of crystal lattice dislocations and their role in reminisces how in AORG he ‘helped Mott Ithe plastic deformation of solids. He wielded enormous influence on materials science on problems of diffraction affecting the through his acclaimed monograph, Theory of Crystal Dislocations, the encyclopaedic series of accuracy of anti-aircraft radar, studied the books, Dislocations in Solids, which he edited, and innumerable personal ties. In the various effectiveness of anti-aircraft shells and offices he held at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, and through his worked out the consequences of Solly membership of numerous scientific societies and committees, he played an important role in the development of science in South Africa and the transformation of our society. Nabarro Zuckerman’s experiments on the pene- possessed to a remarkable degree the ability to bridge cultures, whether scientific, political or tration of shell fragments into telephone social, and was sought out by many for his knowledge and wise counsel.
    [Show full text]
  • DST Newletter Janunary 2020
    COVID-19: DSI RESPONSE Data-Science Potential NIXTAMALIZATION ADDS VALUE Protecting whistle-blowers Content - Making sure it’s possible - 3 DSI responds to COVID-19 pandemic 5 Department of Science and Innovation supports South Africa’s first rural community-owned Internet service provider 7 South Africa showcase Data Science Potential 10 Skills revolution and innovation critical to 5 development says Minister Nzimande 12 IKS a sector rich with economic opportunities 14 iThemba labs beacon of research excellence and transformation 15 DSI funds successful Nixtamilisation project 17 MeerKAT Expansion includes 20 additional dishes 19 CRISPR-Gene Editing 13 22 COVID-19 pandemic highlights importance of international science diplomacy 24 3D printing technologies and innovation to take South Africa forward 26 Learners exposed to space science and technology 27 Science and Technology Laws Amendment Bill 28 DSI appoints woman maintenance officer 19 29 The Circular economy-A new source of economic growth 30 Harnessing STI for a just transition to a circular economyl 31 Protecting people who expose corruption 28 2 4th Quarter RESEARCH NEEDED into COVID-19 in South Africa As government tackles the COVID-19 pandemic through a comprehensive approach to control the spread of the disease, the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) has redirected R4 million from some of its projects to research into The DSI has redirected millions of rand to assist with the novel corona virus. research efforts. With research and development at the heart of its work, for additional funds. “Through the DSI, we are engaging with the Department is supporting local research that will focus the Department of Health, the Medical Research Council, on surveillance, therapeutics and understanding the local and the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority epidemiology and natural history of the virus, which has with a view to mobilising funding, reprioritising research infected in South Africa 62 people so far.
    [Show full text]
  • TVET COLLEGE TIMES December 2017 TVET ISSN 2409-3319 Your Vocation Starts Here College Times from the MINISTRY Volume 51 Ith the Summer Holidays This Edition
    TVET ISSN 2410-6496 College Times Volume 51 December 2017 The Official Quarterly TVET College Newsletter and Journal TVET Colleges: Your Vocation starts here 1 TVET COLLEGE TIMES December 2017 TVET ISSN 2409-3319 Your Vocation starts here College Times FROM THE MINISTRY Volume 51 ith the summer holidays this edition. It opens with WorldSkills December 2017 The Official Quarterly TVET College Newsletter and Journal Wbeckoning on the horizon, one competition successes, Artisanship might be forgiven for reading ‘Vacation’ Development and Entrepreneurship instead of ‘Vocation’! Development. The entrepreneurship DHET welcomes Prof Hlengiwe Our eyes are of course focussing development discussion leads to on the hundreds of thousands of young its logical conclusion in a profile of Mkhize and Mr Buti Manamela and Editorial team people who are applying to TVET Alumni in Business. Then we review Colleges for admission to the 2018 initiatives in Partnerships local and wishes Dr Nzimande well Editor: Keith Loynes Academic Year. For them, they whom we international, various Teaching and Rotating Assistant Editor: Ivan Swart serve, it is very much about launching Learning practices, and The National Design & Layout: MPDPS (PTY) Ltd he Department of Higher Education we will continue to achieve many things to Printing: RSALitho into a vocation. A vocation that will set Debate 2017 Competition. Remaining Professional language service: the start of their career-paths. with Campus Matters, we re-energise Tand Training (DHET) has welcomed advance higher education and training in Woodleys Literary Services Office Management: With that in mind, we have the TVET Brand, take it to the youth in the appointment of both Professor the country,” he said.
    [Show full text]
  • Unrevised Hansard
    UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES TUESDAY, 29 MAY 2018 Page: 1 TUESDAY, 29 MAY 2018 ____ PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES ____ The Council met at 14:01. The House Chairperson, Ms M C Dikgale, took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation. Mr C HATTINGH: May I just ask your indulgence. In the previous sitting while you were in the Chair, there was an incident between two members and you indicated that you will study Hansard and come back to the House. I would like to know whether you have done that and are ready to report to the House. The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M C Dikgale): Hon Hattingh, request you to take your seat. Thank you very much for raising that. I’ll come to the House when it is time. Now is the time for Notices of Motion. It looks like we do not have any motions. Thank you very much, hon members. Hon Julius. Okay, can I check whether there are members ready to give Motions without Notice? UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES TUESDAY, 29 MAY 2018 Page: 2 UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG HOSTS INAUGURAL MOSES KOTANE MEMORIAL LECTURE AT AUCKLAND PARK CAMPUS (Draft Resolution) Mr J P PARKIES: Chair, I hereby move without notice: That the Council - (1) notes that the University of Johannesburg, UJ will on Thursday evening,31 May 2018 host its inaugural Moses Kotane Memorial Lecture at its Auckland Park Campus; (2) also notes that the lecture titled Moses Kotane Chief Architect of the struggle, in honour of the longest-serving General Secretary of the SACP will be delivered by the SACP General Secretary, Blade Nzimande; (3) further notes that Comrade Kotane was also a leading member of the ANC and he served the ANC as Treasurer-General from 1963 to 1973 when he was replaced by Thomas Nkobi; and (4) therefore, wishes UJ and the SACP well on the inaugural lecture of this giant of our liberation struggle.
    [Show full text]
  • Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
    ANNUAL 2018/19 PO Box 395, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa Published by: CSIR Communication Enquiries: Tel +27 12 841 2911 • Email: [email protected] ISBN-13 978-0-7988-5643-0 “The objects of the CSIR are, through directed and particularly multi-disciplinary research and technological innovation, to foster, in the national interest and in fields which in its opinion should receive preference, industrial and scientific development, either by itself or in co-operation with principals from the private or public sectors, and thereby to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the people of the Republic, and to perform any other functions that may be assigned to the CSIR by or under this Act.” (Scientific Research Council Act 46 of 1988, as amended by Act 27 of 2014) CONTENTS The CSIR at a glance ......................................................2 From our leadership .......................................................6 Organisational highlights .............................................. 24 Financial sustainability and governance .......................... 66 Executive report ........................................................... 87 Consolidated financial statements ................................ 101 Knowledge dissemination ............................................ 148 Abbreviations ............................................................ 175 1 INTRODUCTION THE CSIR AT A GLANCE 2 342 TOTAL STAFF BASE 1 608 1 610 1 041 *SET BASE BLACK SOUTH FEMALE SOUTH AFRICANS AFRICANS *Science, engineering and technology
    [Show full text]
  • One by One the Dominoes Fall Assessing Life After Zuma
    HAMBA KAHLE CDE RICA HODGSON! February 2018 Voice of the South African Communist Party Dawn of the post-Nasrec era ONE BY ONE THE DOMINOES FALL Assessing life after Zuma Now more than ever our Party must play its vanguard role! 2 Umsebenzi NEW YEAR Advancing into new, uncertain times As South Africa moves into exciting, but uncertain, times, writes Jeremy Cronin, our Party must be strategically consistent, analytically alert and tactically flexible enin is reputed to have once said on the matter (a report that somehow Mbeki… only to be re-hired and gifted “there are decades where nothing manages to leave the Guptas out of the with a fancy Dubai apartment when his happens, and weeks where decades equation). father’s fortunes turned. Lhappen.” It would be an exaggera- Yes, much of what is happening is still Over a year ago, the SACP called for tion to claim decades have been hap- half moves, reluctant shifts, or just the an independent judicial commission into pening in South Africa in the past few beginnings of long suppressed investiga- corporate capture of the state. The former weeks. We are not exactly living through tions. But we shouldn’t underestimate Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela’s State “ten days that shook the world” as John what is afoot, or fail to act vigorously in of Capture report took up this idea and Reed once described the 1917 Bolshevik support of the momentum that has now added that, since he was implicated in the Revolution. opened up. report, President Zuma could not select But we are certainly living through Everywhere, former Gupta political the judge.
    [Show full text]
  • How Julius Malema Destroyed the Npa’S Case Against Jacob Zuma in 365 Days
    YEAR ONE HOW JULIUS MALEMA DESTROYED THE NPA’S CASE AGAINST JACOB ZUMA IN 365 DAYS GARETH VAN ONSELEN May 2018 Published by the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR) 2 Clamart Road, Richmond Johannesburg, 2092 South Africa P O Box 291722, Melville, Johannesburg, 2109 South Africa Telephone: (011) 482–7221 © South African Institute of Race Relations 2018 ISSN: 2311-7591 Members of the Media are free to reprint or report information, either in whole or in part, contained in this publication on the strict understanding that the South African Institute of Race Relations is acknowledged. Otherwise no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronical, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. While the IRR makes all reasonable efforts to publish accurate information and bona fi de expression of opinion, it does not give any warranties as to the accuracy and completeness of the information provided. The use of such information by any party shall be entirely at such party’s own risk and the IRR accepts no liability arising out of such use. Editor-in-chief: Frans Cronje Author: Gareth van Onselen Cell: 073 179 5957 Email: [email protected] Typesetter: Martin Matsokotere Cover design by InkDesign ONE YEAR: HOW JULIUS MALEMA DESTROYED THE NPA’S CASE AGAINST JACOB ZUMA IN 365 DAYS Abstract This is the story of the primary role played by then-ANCYL leader Julius Malema in the destruction of the National Prosecuting Authority’s original case against former President Jacob Zuma.
    [Show full text]
  • Taking Control of NUM: the Rise of the Communist Faction
    CHAPTER 9 Taking Control of NUM: The Rise of the Communist Faction THE COMMUNIST CADRE The ideal type of leadership I now address is closely linked to the type of organisation NUM became as it was increasingly controlled and shaped by Gwede Mantashe, its general secretary from 1998 to 2006. Mantashe was then elected secretary general of the ANC in 2007. This internal reconfiguration is closely related to a changing balance of forces in the union, which started in the early 2000s when, after Kgalema Motlanthe, James Motlatsi left NUM. A former NUM head office employee once described Mantashe to me as a ‘hard-core communist’, a national leader in the SACP – a party my interlocutor described as the ‘most Stalinist in the world’, recall- ing that when Mantashe heard about the coup d’état against Gorbachev, in 1991, he ‘was so happy when he arrived at work’. With this in mind, I will first consider the question: what does it mean to be a communist cadre in twenty-first century South Africa? This will then allow me to consider NUM’s departure from the type of leadership described earlier, which combined administrative and organisational skills with some form of involvement and proximity with the membership base. In this configuration of the leader–member relationship, the top-down dynamic that structured NUM over time was tempered by mechanisms that allowed the base to retain some degree of worker control, which corrected the union’s centralising tendency. In Mantashe’s ideal of organisation, ‘discipline’ became the preferred type of allegiance, which was mechanically imposed on the union in line with the prin- ciple of ‘democratic centralism’.
    [Show full text]
  • Organisational Report
    ORGANISATIONAL REPORT We think that a powerful and vigorous movement is impossible without differences ² "true conformity" is possible only in the cemetery. Stalin's article "Our purposes" Pravda #1, (22 January 1912) 1. Introduction 1.1. Since the 2nd National Congress in December 2006, Durban, we have maintained vibrancy, activism, and refocused with zeal and dedication the building of a fighting, educating, learning, agitating youth organisation for socialism. Since that Congress and the National Council held two years later and representing members from more than 600 branches and 29 Districts, the organisation has grown to 1278 branches and with more than 53 794 members from 39 Districts. As we have seen in the past and present within the revolutionary alliance, quantitative growth of organisations brings its own challenges especially if members are not steeped in the traditions of belonging to an organisation, values of selflessness and service to the people. Organisations in many instances are not seen as vehicles of liberating our people but as self serving instruments and thus some organisations seems to crumble in the feet of internal electoral politics which sometimes results in a collapse of organisational activism. This quantitative growth of the YCLSA, therefore, should not become a downward spiral into a political warzone were all that matters is election to political office. We should translate these members, as we declared at the Durban Congress, into activists and then into cadres dedicated for socialism. 1.2. This is an opportunity to maintain organisational stability, unity and cohesion through activism and vibrancy. Of course the growth of the organisation will result in young people whose interests are not those of socialism.
    [Show full text]
  • S2A3 Rudolf Marloth Brochure: November 2003 Award Ceremony
    Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science Suider-Afrika Genootskap vir die Bevordering van die Wetenskap Rudolf' Marlo~h Brochure - Brosjure Annual award ceremony: November 2003 Merit Certificates The award of the following merit certificates should be seen in the light of our centenary heritage project. They are nevertheless within the ambit of all our previous awards, recognising the advancement of science in general. Mohammed Valli Moosa and pollution caused by 4 x 4 and other leisure vehicles. These seemed ineradicable symptoms of our unconcern with the living legacy we owe to future generations; in fact, an unconcern which has long been shooting our local and tourism endeavours in the foot. It helps that Mr Moosa is an accessible, unaffected and genuine environmentalist, trudging with a smile and a backpack along the reaches of the Drakensberg. His attitude and actions have been truly encouraging to scientists, environmental associations and the public at large. The legislation referred to is clearly based on ecological research, and should inspire more scientists and associations to become actively engaged in projects to preserve and rehabilitate our natural Minister Valli Moosa accepts his merit certificate heritage. With so much public attention being given to from Dr Jan Raper, President of S2A3 the condition of our living situation, it is inevitable that young scientists will realize the urgency of applying In his capacity as Minister of Environmental Affairs and their disciplines to our collective benefit. Our survival Tourism, Mohammed Valli Moosa has achieved what is at stake, after all, and is in the hands of scientists, none of his predecessors was able to.
    [Show full text]
  • A Concept Note the Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership Dialogue Series Ju -.:University of Limpopo
    A Concept Note The Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership Dialogue Series June 2013 Introduction The advent of democracy in South Africa came about as a result of many enduring struggles and human sacrifices. But it was the calibre of leadership then and the dialogues South Africans had among themselves that saved the country from the brink of an imminent civil war. A selfless leadership with a vision, engaged in dialogues, catapulted our country from a pariah state it was, to becoming the envy of the world. South Africa’s Constitution, regarded among the best in the world, is itself a product of visionary leadership and the many dialogues our people had through the Congress for Democratic South Africa (CODESA) process. The making of post-apartheid South Africa cannot, therefore, be understood outside the context of the calibre leadership and dialogues we have had. But the advent of democracy did not mean the end of all social, political or economic ills. Almost two decades after the advent of democracy, some of our old challenges persist while many new vexing ones have also emerged. Poverty is still rife. Inequality is rising. Unemployment is shooting the roof tops. Good governance is a rarity. Corruption is endemic and now and then, the spectre of xenophobia rears its ugly head. Clearly, these problems require strategic leadership in social, political and economic spheres if we are to combat them successfully. Only a nation in dialogue with itself can find solutions to overcome challenges of this magnitude. The Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership (TGSL) is well positioned to provide the platform for the development of the calibre of leadership our country need and to facilitate dialogues to find solutions to our vexing challenges.
    [Show full text]