Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
GOVERNMENT will allocate up to one percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product to research and development if the Research Amendment Bill that was gazetted last Friday is passed into law.
The Bill will amend the Research Act and align the proposed law with the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act and the Constitution.
Government’s commitment to funding research is contained in Clause 12 of the Bill.
“The Government commits itself to progressively, in the least time possible, that at least one percentum of the GDP of Zimbabwe in any year is applied to research and development through its own agency and the agency of other actors in the public and private sectors,” read part of the Bill.
Clause 17 of the Bill will also establish the Research Fund that will be responsible for the promotion of national interest through research, innovation and technological adaptation and adoption, development of appropriate human resources for research and fund other activities as are necessary for research purposes.
The fund shall consist of money payable to the research authority from money appropriated for that purpose by an Act of Parliament, fees and charges raised for services and facilities provided and other things done by the Authority, any donations and grants made to the Fund by any person or authority or by any government of any country and loans which may be raised with the approval of the minister (responsible for Higher Education) in consultation with the Minister of Finance.
“Disbursement of the Fund must be in accordance with the priorities and objectives specified by the National Research Strategic Plan that is currently in force, and no specific research proposal in respect of which funding is sought from the Fund shall be approved by the Authority, unless it has first been vetted and endorsed by the appropriate research council,” read part of the Bill.
“Provided that where research is being carried out by an individual researcher who is not associated with any research institute, the Authority shall determine the appropriate method of vetting and endorsement.”
The Government’s intention to fund research is in sync with the adoption of the Heritage-based curriculum in the country’s education sector that prioritises production of goods and services, with research and development being a critical component of the policy.
Most tertiary education institutions have established industrial parks and innovation hubs in line with the Government’s policy.
