AN OVERVIEW OF SCIENCE AND TECIINLOGY POLICY IN AFRICA •

s.

Jugessur

I. INTRODUCTION

Africa is recognized as the least developed continent of the globe, with "28 countries considered as "least developed countries (LDCs)" needing enhanced inter-national aid for their socio-economic development and for their survival. One of the main reasons for this underdevelopment is the low level of scientific and techno-_

logical capacity and inadequate application of science and technology. Over the years Africa's comparative advantage, with plenty of natural resources, has waned with the advent of new and emerging science and technology that have gradually dis-placed African raw materials with new products and have plummeted the prices of these commodities in the world market. This has accentuated the economic crisis in many member States and consequently limited funds have been allocated to the development and application of science and technology.

While there has been growing consciousness of the crucial role that science and technology can play in the development process, this has not been matched by adequate resource allocation to the very tool that can change the face of a country.

Those countries that have promoted science and technology through explicit policies and plans have succeeded in improving the living conditions of their people, but such countries are few in the African panorama. Besides economic crisis, a host of other factors have contributed to the marginalization of science and technology as a develop"ment tool.

TI. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY FRAMEWORK AND INTERPRETATION In the Western world, where scientific and technological developments have been the basis for socio-economic development for-very long time, science and tech-nology have been interpreted as up-to-date developments in knowledge and tools and thereby linked with high-level research and manpower training, and generally with research and development (R&D). The same interpretation has been applied in the African context where the situation is quite different. Instead of stressing on the application of available, off-the-shelf science and technology which can contribute to immediate solutions of pressing problems, there has been shess on high-level research and manpower training. This approach, though necessary, has not been viewed as essential by policy m3.kers keen on finding immediate solutions to press-ing problems. As such, there has generally been only lip service to the area of

feSc.:;,\! :h ;,,'v1 rnanpowcr IrulI:wg have impact in tli,' ;',':1,:,' i, .-:n {'ii U;;;\ dt)pmeni ,mt!

for r;)liti( lan~', tlIn~ is an t.:'sst.:'nrlal nifcrion. i [ tak~s l.~ I'" 2LJ year~ tor rt~,~;u,;h

<1nLl 11k: pl:'(\pk trained lil ":l)ntrlhlit~ to Jt~\'elopmellt anu : hi -, i" harJly P. prior [I: l~11 pollticjan~.

In the C(Jnl~xl of sllch an mterprdauun tit ~~'l.;:.n.:o;t and tcdl!\l)iot-':-, many African L'uunlrics wherc the h~ader~hlp w.;\:-> far-.jighkd, did initiate pull~Y fld:nC .... ('r~.

tor s~it:ncc amllcchnology, in the form I ' i f natiOnal rC~t'arch l..'Ol1.ll,:i!..,. (\h;n~Jl::, h'r sClentifi;.; ::!ld mdustrial resean.;h, natiomd c()mmis~ions ri)r ~,"!'" lL'C allJ k~ :!noI01.')'.

Dir'.:.ctoratcs tor higher learning and sci{-;ntiti;.; research alld, at [lIlieS, mll1i~ll~eS fur scientlflc research or for science and technology. Most of these I11cchani~m:, .;flfor tutlatdy iaid mOrt: stn:~~s on research, the organization of rcs~arch. UI":, l-l\!lrLilllatlOn of r~search and 1i.ll]e stress on development involving the applical.iJlJ of iy~carch findings or thl.:'- commercialization of research results_ Research result" Wel;;~ HiL.ely publisnl''u in foreIgn journals and explOited by outslJers, whilc: /\1 x~rl rt:sean.:hers were content with academK distinction ;iriJ promotldn, Thr; link hdwccn (he re-.carch community <1ild the production ~cdor ha~ ht::~n glan;ll~l) JL'~

mg. The pftvalc SCC((,f. local entrepren'_'l.fS, dc\ dopnk'nt and conuna,,:w! h,:nks.

the market speual!sts, ali had no input Hl l;'II.: n{ir!)_:~ of r;;:s',;arch. ur \' . .;..rc nUl

involved In tile consumption of research rcslllt~:_ ,\::, ~,ud. ,het'_ "',en; h:irJly ',oil

lOJu~lll~tliZiHilm and opportuni!les m the public "lilt pil\'ak" .... C~;.:ll\r for Ir~knrl(,,) ot hlgh-kvd pcoi'Jic traJn~d In the uni',''';I:-.llies anJ It!seardl inslJtute~, 1t;,llhng to ubviOlb i.,ain-Jral'1.

In tins sOclo-economiL' t!nvir()nm~nt, pol,,: m~Lers 11.1.1,.

im".:"t In SClch:::: and technoingy and the multiple [J' ,:' \ m;ldllnen~, \,.'...-a ;,.j Oi)r h~,~n dt~ctIvc in delivering th~ goods. Th"Tt: ^j";I)",,;:J for a reon~ntall(;l1 .. : Ir.-(>xlcepl <{nd approach to :;cicm:c and kchnd()~::. In th,; ',frlon r~~:,"l l~ \ ' : ' V .,;<

tht;m tu contrihutt: ~ffectlvciy 1\) devdopmcnL

The United Nations World Confercn..:t' l\J1 Science and Te~hr.,)log\i for De\'d(>pmcnt hdd in Vienna III August 1979 markcJ a turning point In j h;. ·..i'~v'ciop

ment and ;'{ppllcatio/1 of scicnc.; and kj~hnology 1I1 ioe Atncan regioll. The Vlt:nn.l Programme of Acti(ln Ii} SCle!h.:e and TCl:hnology for Devdopwent ( I! wa:; not fully

acc~ptoo hy -.,Jnc.m member States who met in L,,!!, )s. Nigeria in April 1980 and came out with the t.agos Plan of Action for th~ Economic Dc:vdopmc:nt ul Aln-.:a (2). soon after the Monrovia D~i.:I .. lratlon in Jul\' 1979 ( ) on gUldclllll~~ dnd

Tl1e-8S11r-:s for nallunal ami colk'::U\L" sd f-rdimh,e In ;;:(.'UI10J)l',' a!;d <,\)..:iaI

developmenr for the establi"hment of a nt~\V international economi.; \Jrder. The I...agos Plan of Action clearly st:itt:.s t.hat member States should invest in iicience and technology lesources for raismg Airican -;tandards of living and for rclH:~vmg misery

if; rural areas. Paragraph 120 states: "Mt:!mha States should, therefore, adopt me<>.sUft!s to ensure th:... dtwelopment of an adt:quate science and t~hnology base and the <lppropr:atl'! applicarion of science and texhnology in spear-heading development in agricuttl.ln:., transport and communications, indlj~,[ry including agro-allied indus-tries, hc.alth and sanitation, energy. educati')fl and manpower development. housing, urban devtlopment and envIronment." :\ cOmp[eh~nsive set of measures are given k' achi~~ve tht:. goal of sdf reliance and self·suslaining development and economic.

growth.

::>cven years after the Lagos Plan ot Action, African Heads of Stat\'! and

g{)vernm~nt, governm;.;nt M misters and high-ranking officials, executive heads and senior offH':lals Df the Unit~ Nations agenci(~':i (I.nd African and non-African scholars came up with thx! Ahuja StatcmLIlL In r'aragmph 22, it is Slates that:

"Overcoming scientll'ic and technol()£i~al underdevelopment WIll

he one of the crltlcal rreconditions to Africa's tX'onomic maturity in the coming twcnty-fir~t century. To achieve this task, Africa will have to d.;p-:nd iess on technology tran~kn. thaI only deepen its deper.dency. It must. instead, make cllnsislent efforts to develop. acquire, adapt and intemaliZf' such techlwlogius and scientific knowkJgt' that will enable it to nlake full and effective use ,)f lb res(;url.:c endov.mt'n(s and in rdation /() its needs. Two areas that \.\'ill have to he focused upon include the enhancement of African research and mIlOvalion and their mstilutionahzati(\£l in the fabric of socidy and the dt.'vdopmem of fuller utili7..ation of Afn·.::an bC)entiflc and technical skills."

Soon afrer th~ Ahl.lj3 slatemcnl, the second Conference of Ministers respon-Sible t()r rhe ApphcatIOn of Sc~cnce and Te"hnoIog; to Development in Africa (CASTAFRiCA II), held III Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, in July 1987, came up With th~ Kilimanjaro D~larati()n (5). Thi~ declaration agam highlights the problem of low util!7.atlOn of science and tt'--ehno1ogy which leads to Africa's woes and proclaims: "we are convinced that only a greater mast.:.ry of S(H::nce and techno-logy and a rallonai use of the fruits of the social and human "clcnc~s can lead to genuine :.tnJ iasling solutHms t() Ihe fundamental problems of ~()cio-economic

development iIi Africa." Once again a series of measures are recommenJct1 t()r an enhanced development and application of science and le.::hnolo!:'y· III the African region.

The Khartoum Declaration ⁽⁶⁾came out of an International Conference on the Human Dimension of Africa's economic recovery and development~ held in Khartoum, the Sudan, in March 1988. While stressing the human factor and the plight of the poor and vulnerable members of a society in any development strategy, the declaration brings out the following: "greater emphasis should be pIa,ced on improvements in the teaching of science and technology in African countries and more effective mechanisms should be evolved for the dissemination of the results of scientific and technological research for purpose of application and development. ^It The African Heads of State and government, at their meeting in Addis Ababa in July 1988, came up the Addis Ahaba Declaration (7) which says: "Aware of the considerable impact of the progress made in the field of science and techno-logy and aware of the challenges facing our continent, we are determined to pro-mote the development of science and technology and to share our experiences in this area so as to meet these challenges ...

All these high-level declarations and statements at the African regionallevel confirm the fact that there has been a growing awareness of the role of science and technology as an essential tool for socia-economic development. These policy declarations however, have yet tt) be translated into concrete plans, programmes and projects that will have the necessary impact on Africa's peoples. One African leader who was very active in the adoption of the Lagos Plan of Action in April 1960, recently avowed in a public conference that very little had been done in his country in the implementation of the Plan and ten years later, he realized what a lot opportunity it had been. Policy statements and declarations have no meaning unless they are closely followed up at national levels by those who have the responsibility to do so.

IV. OBJECTIVES OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLIClES

The main objectives of science and technology policies in those African countries that do have such policies are more or less the same. While the immediate objective is to have an indigenous capacity to solve the problems of basic needs through optimal development and utilization of natural resources, the long-term objective is to achieve a considerable measure of self-reliance and self-sustained development. Complete self-reliance is impossible in an age of inter-dependance.

In the process of socio-economic development~ countries first acquire engineering capability ~ then become capable of performing development tasks involving applica-tion of R&D results for techno-economic feasibility studies and then to organize their own research for products/process development. (8)

Some of the specific objectives, depending on local problems and priorities are to:

(a) Build up a critical mass of national scientific and technological capacity able to achieve the goal of self-reliance;

(b) Acquire a national capacity for autonomous decision making in scientific and technological matters;

(c) Enhance the application of science and technology to socio-economic development so as to improve the quality of life of the people and meet their basic needs;

(d) Promote the exploitation and national utilization of natural resources through industrial development and other means;

(e) Strengthen and/or establish national science and technology insti-tutions responsible for training, research and development through the exploitation of research results;

(t) Provide attractive tenns and conditions of service to the scientific and technological personnel so as to encourage them to give their best and minimize brain-drain;

(g) Establish mechanisms for identifying special talent and aptitudes for innovation and organize scientific and technological exhibitions and competitions;

(h) Establish appropriate legal framework for rationalizing, assessing, monitoring and controlling the transfer of technology and promoting endogenous development and application of technology;

(i) Promote local scientific, technical and engineering services, consul-tancy finns and establishments so as to rely less and less on outside expertise;

(j) Promote the advancement of women in science and technology by improving their educational facilities and helping them to apply science and techno-logy in their daily chores;

(k) Control the indiscriminate adoption of technologies and ensure the protection of the environment and the health of the population;

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(II ET'able a fruitful cO-0peration Ih!-nugh ^PO:I';!CSand srratcg'cs that are in linc with suhrcgional and regional policies and slrate.d~s:

(m) Encourage the private sector through appropriate incentives and I.a~

':"xl'mptlOn~. (0 cnntrihute to S&T development and applicallon and ensure a healthy

rq, '\. rahlic and private sector cnh:rprises;

(n) En~ure a ht~aithy growth ^()fpnority' sectors of the economy agri-cultun:. industry, hudth, envJT(mment, enerb'y, transport and c(lmll':l!ll;:ation~.

edUC<:Ilidll. int~'rmation, etc.

Th~,.,e obJ<.,ctlvcs are hy no mc,lr.s exclu..,j\'~ and vary ;a :Jifferent countnes.

There ai,: other o~i,~-:ti'!c:'i that can ht~ adJ~'d to the abO\:,.:. dcpend~ng of tht: special

circum~tanccs and levd of development oj lh~ l.:()untrie~ c:on~idt'n:d.

V. STRLCTLRES A:,\D ~tECJl'\~rS\;fS FOR SCIE~CE A'In TECII,"OI.O(;Y POLICY~\1AKI~G HOnIES .'.; AFRICA

AI! polic) -making bodies for :-'ClcO,-'-:: and technology in Africa art' govern-mentaL They "Ire cmpowt"red with Illultifan·,'us fUIlI.'t'Dn..,. bm in practice they have not heen able to perform them he~ml~e the toob and financial "~!PJl\.)rt nCl:cssary for tht:>m to hl~ effective have not hc\:'n forthcoming.

A study conducted hy ECA (9) on performance review of sCience and t~ch

nolo~y policy Institutions in Ghana, Guinea. Kenya, Nigena and the Uni(~

Republic of Tanzania reveah::d that national in~titLltiof.ls tor S&T polIt:Y set for themselves amhitions goals and functIOns. hut pccause of intcmati(J11al tXonomlC pressures and lI1temal struclUral weakllc"ses, thuse goals and functions have so tar, not been adequately realized. Limited dforb hav~ hi2en made to apply SCIence and technology in a practil'al \\ .. ay to snl\'c <"OClo-econOlIllC problems, since explicit

sl,.'icnc~ and technul0t:') policies have n()t be~n integrated into broader ~;()cio

economIc policies. r\or have :'ClenCe and tel,,:hnology plan~ and programmes heen lflkgrated into national :"\oclu-econornic development plans 'and programmes in the countries :-.ludiL'd. There ha.' been a lack of intra-and Inlt:r-sectoral lmkages vv'Hhin which ~ciencc and [echnology could he: made tu l:ontrii:mte effectively to tht:

development procc'ss.

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._-A. Goal and fundI.-':!..!

The gl)&i and functions of the l11slitutions £C·r Sl.. j~,lCe <tnd t&hno\ogy policy fail tnt,,' t\F) categories: advisory and ~xt"..cutive fun.clicns. Advisory functions include advice on:

(a) SCiC'-"!\LC aJvances and their relevur.,c t(' national de'velopment;

(b) Te.cb111cal requirements for the control of the nalUral and socia environment:

(d) 1c:t:hnc:logical re.g Ulrernents for I h..:: ~ndustl ializatiofl of the country Among tho, ~xecut\ .. 'e fundiOn~ ,He:

{<t') Pdicy articlllation

ano

formuiatic,n;

(b) Determination an(j coordInation pI re~ed[ch priontlc~S;

(d) Popularization of S&T;

(e) Ensuring the application of research results;

(f) Promotion of research and development.

Depending on the nature of the institution and its history, 'other functions like coordination, regulalion (control), standardization 3J1d training are often included. In the institutions studied (Ghana, Guinea and Kenya). the control and regulatory functions are more apparent than real because [hey are not accompamcU by an organizational hierarchy or accountability structures, leading te friction and internal ,power struggles.

There are two lypes of organizational structures, the government department under a ministry as in Nigeria or Gumea, and the non-departmental

...

semi-autonomous like in Ghana, Kenya, the United 'Republic of Tanzania. among the six countries studied. In the departmental structure, the minister is at the head and carries decisions to the cabinet for approval. While decisions are fast to reach within his ministry, he often has difficulty at cabinet level where he has to compete with other ministers for a share of the national' cake, in terms of funding. Where little or no funding is involved, such a departmental structure is quite effective.

In the non-departmentaJ, semi-autonomous structure. unless the President or Prime Minister is at the head. decisions are delayed. Usually appointees on the coordinating committee are delegates of the different ministries and the heads do not always attend. Besides government officers, representatives of private sector and research _ organizations form part of the committee as in a parastataJ. Again, unless the country' s President or Prime Minister is the head, decisions cannot reach the parliament in time and fulancial provisions are a real problem.

In both cases, follow-up of decisions is often affected by changes in the appointments. Because of a high mobility in the personnel, new persons come to board meetings and . are not able to follow the issues being discuss~s; this has a negative impact on the continuity and consistency of activities. Also, heads of millistries and departments tend to travel often and the consequent delegation and sub-delegation of power tend to dilute the decision-making capacity and affect the efficiency. The quality and efficiency of a committee or councilor board ultimately depend on the quality and efficiency of the institutional representatives.

If the councils or committees are too large in terms of membership, meet-ings may be difficult to convene and service. adequately. Small membership is not always possible because of the need to have the different interest groups repre-sented. The creation sub-committees on specialized issues can heJp to keep the membership at optimal level.

C. Goal attainment

To attain the goals set forth for the science and technology policy insti-tutions, it is necessary to have inter-sectoral groups of economists planners, scientists and technologists involved in all the stages of planning, budgeting, programming, executing, monitoring and evaluation phases. This has not always been the case and goals have rarely been achieved.

While significant research results have been achieved by research institu-tions, speciaUy in agriculture and medicine and in social sciences, the results have

Research in the field of industrial innovations has not been very successful b&ause of the Jack of capacity in terms of infrastructure and personnel. The private sector has played a marginal role in this field.

,D. Suhregional scope

National policy development has to be seen in the context of subregional policies. This is not the case in most of the countries in the region, for subregional policies are themselves absent. This has led to duplication of activities in countries, with ensuing pressure on limited resources and on the market value of commodities produced. The determination of priorities for R&D and related services, pro-gramme budgeting for institutional infrastructures and the development of agriculture and industry are "all skewed because of the absence of policies in line with subre-gional and resubre-gional policies. This is particularly devastating in the field of agri-cultural products where composition for overseas markets by producers of cacao, coffee, tea, peanuts, sugar, palm oil, maize and a host of other commodities tends to reduce the bargaining power of African countries, specially when biot&hnolo-gically eqgineered products are coming in the market.

VI. CATEGORIZATION 01" COUNTRIES IN AFRICAN REGIOI';

The countries of the region can be generally classified into three categories with regard to the establishment of national science and technology policy-making bodies. (10) In the first group, there are countries like Algeria, Cameroon, the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana. Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, the Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia, etc., where the science and technology policy-making bodies are more or less functional, though there is

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