Many of South Africa’s current problems in the defence and security environments could have been avoided if proper and effective investments had been made over the past ten to fifteen years in the research and development of key technologies. It is therefore critical not to repeat the mistakes of the past and makes those investments in technology now in order to enhance the country’s present and future security.
This was the core message that Mphahlela James Thaba, Impact Area Manager: Technology for Special Operations at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), sought to deliver during his presentation on need for technological sovereignty as well as how it can be achieved at the Public-Private Partnership for Defence and Security Conference last month.
“Investing in tomorrow’s technology today is more critical than ever. If we want to be honest now about the challenges we are facing today, I think, one of the problems is that this investment did not happen in time,” Thaba told conference attendees.
“Nations that invest in technological advancement secure their sovereignty, enhance economic prosperity, and remain competitive in an increasingly digitized and interconnected world.”
Thaba explored three primary areas impacted by technical sovereignty; namely, national security, economic development, and national competitiveness. In terms of national security, Thaba noted that technology impacts a wide array of factors ranging from military superiority to the ability to secure the national cyber space as well as supply chain security.
In relation to economic development, he noted that technology plays a key determining factor on the country’s potential for industrial growth, ability to create jobs, as well as in advancing innovation and infrastructure development. Finally, he also explored the impact of technology on national competitiveness and independence, wherein technology/intellectual property is a key enabling factor. “A nation that does not concentrate on its competitiveness on the global stage cannot want to be a big player.”
However, while Thaba strongly advocated for the need to enhance technological sovereignty in South Africa, he was also cognisant of the barriers to the development of a sovereign technological capability, citing the lack of funding in the military industrial space, a lack of and loss of key skills, infrastructure deficits, unproductive policies and regulations, low economic growth, and ineffective PPP arrangements.
In order overcome these barriers Thaba emphasised the need for government and industry to take proactive measures “that are strategically planned and forward-looking, rather than reactive or defensive.” While also fostering a “sovereignty-oriented innovation policy, with key elements such as knowledge development, market formation, and public-private partnerships.”
Notably, Thaba emphasised that while the state does have a key role to play in this, its role should not be ‘overplayed,’ as there should not be a loss of agency regarding access to critical technologies, and trade and investment policies should be coordinated to avoid protectionist tendencies.
Relatedly Thaba called for the enhancement of South Africa’s ‘Infrastructure Sovereignty’ (the expansion of locally produces ICT and 5G networks), ‘Regulatory Sovereignty’ (establishing regulations for the use of foreign technologies), as well as ‘Digital and Data Sovereignty’ (locally developed AI and cloud infrastructure) as key measures to ensure South Africa is able to become a technologically sovereign nation.
Thaba concluded his address by highlighting the need for PPPs in achieving technological sovereignty as well as, what he views as the critical role the CSIR can and should play in these future PPPs, through fostering innovation, knowledge transfer, and the localisation of foreign technology.
“Government, industry, and research institutions must collaborate. The drive towards technology sovereignty requires that we must be emphatic when it comes to technology transfers and strategic investment, especially when it comes to science and technology,” Thaba emphasised.
