……. As government applauds private sector scientists’ investment in the development agenda.
Government has said as a matter of urgency, there is need to hold a two days conference next month comprising itself, the academia, industry and cooperating partners in order to validate the draft science and industrial research policy with a view to elevate science at the centre stage of development.
Technology and Science Minister Hon Felix Mutati said come 2022, there is need for the country to have a direction through the successful validation of the policy which the ministry has been working on since its establishment.
Hon Mutati said the ministry needs a policy focus that it can work on hence the need to develop a working eco-system that comprise the government, academia, industry and cooperating partners in order to deliver results that will benefit all sectors of the country and its people.
The minister was speaking when he held an over 5 hours meeting with Zambian scientists, lecturers and researchers from universities as well as government officials at the Sarovar Hotel in Lusaka to appreciate their work.
Speaking when he addressed the delegates, Hon Mutati reiterated that the country has not paid much attention to science and industrial research which he believes is the bedrock of technology.
“Unless we strengthen your science and industrial research, we cannot talk about sustainable technology because at the exit of this technology is innovation. We need to elevate science and bring it to a centre stage and the answers lie amongst ourselves” Hon Mutati said.
Hon Mutati said beyond developing a science and industrial research policy, it is also important to have a national research agenda and that it about time the country established a national research fund as part of the policy focus.
He said currently, there is funding towards research but this is in a fragmented way and not coordinated which also results in the fragmentation of works being done by scientists and researchers.
Hon Mutati said government’s desire is to increase the profile of scientists in order to let the people know what they are capable of producing because the country has for a long time been shy to celebrate its own success.
“My suggested roadmap to the validation of the policy is that we must include the conversation of science to complete the draft policy which we already have. Our next step will be to bring the ecosystem (government, academia, industry and cooperating partners) in one big room with government on top because this is a tremendous agenda. For 2022, we need to have a direction and this matter is urgent” Hon Mutati told the meeting.
He said come next year, the ministry is going to make a very big sound that never again is science and industrial research going to be an orphan (isolated).
Hon Mutati also thanked the private sector scientists who he said are doing tremendous work and investing quite a lot in the development agenda, along with government.
He however said if the private sector and government aggregate and have one direction in this development agenda, Zambia will be made great again with the scientists being the heroes of this country.
