adminPretoria – Spending on research and development (R&D) remains stubbornly at 0.76 percent of GDP for the third year in a row, according to the 2012/13 national survey of research and development.However, the rand amount spent had risen to R23.871 billion, which is R1.622 billion more than the previous year, Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor told reporters in Pretoria yesterday while tabling the document.
“The additional R&D spending maintained the level of gross expenditure on R&D at 0.76 percent of GDP in 2012/13. This is the same as the figure that we had in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 survey years,” Pandor told reporters in Pretoria.
She said this worried her department “because it’s always been our ambition to be at least at one percent of GDP and we’ve not reached that ratio at this time”.
There was a need to encourage greater levels of R&D investment to enhance the country’s competitiveness.
“What we report to you today [on Wednesday] shows that we are investing in research and development; shows that South Africa is improving; but, it [also] says if South Africa wants to be globally competitive and align with the best, we have to invest much more,” Pandor said.
According to the survey, South Africa ranks below its Brics partners when it comes to R&D spending.
Brazil spends the equivalent of 1.16 percent of its GDP on R&D, Russia 1.12 percent, India 0.87 percent and China 1.98 percent.
Among the top-scoring countries were Finland and Japan, which spend 3.55 percent and 3.34 percent.
Pandor said the survey had revealed several trends, including that government remained the largest funder of R&D in the country, while the business sector remained the largest performer of R&D.
However, government was concerned at the decline in R&D spending in the manufacturing sector, “because that’s . . . where we want to see jobs and economic growth”.
According to the survey, the number of R&D researchers in the business sector dropped from 8 560 to 6 191 over the period 2008/09 to 2012/13.
The survey also found that of the R23.871 billion spent on R&D in 2012/13, R10.832 billion came from the government, R9.152 billion from business, R3.117 billion from overseas and R770 million from other sources.
Of the total, 46.3 percent was spent on applied research, 28.4 percent on experimental development and 25.3 percent on basic research.
There were 64 917 people involved in R&D in that year.
The government aimed o achieve an R&D to GDP ration of 1.5 percent by 2019. – Sapa
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