Joint media statement

President, Cyril Ramaphosa, praised the CSIR, an entity of the Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation, for its commitment to excellence and its alignment with government priorities such as inclusive growth, job creation, and building a capable state.

The President, who was hosted on Tuesday, 8 April, by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Blade Nzimande, toured a number of facilities at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), to gain first-hand insights into the research and development activities taking place at the institution.

“Today, I received a personal tour of the world-class facilities on this campus. I got to see the vast array of work being done across the CSIR’s clusters, in areas such as advanced agriculture and food, chemicals, health, mining, manufacturing, defence, digital transformation, human settlements and the built environment,” said President Ramaphosa. “All of this impressive work is firmly aligned to Government’s priorities of driving inclusive growth and job creation; reducing poverty and the high cost of living; and building a capable, ethical and developmental state.”

The President and Minister, were also accompanied by the Deputy Minister, of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ms Nomalungelo Gina and the Chair of the Portfolio Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation, Ms Tsakani Shiviti.

As part of the visit, the President received an overview of the CSIR from the Dr Thulani Dlamini, CSIR CEO, visiting a few exhibitions of CSIR technologies and also toured key CSIR facilities that reflect the organisation’s commitment to innovation that creates impact. These include:

• The Energy Storage Testbed facility, which assesses the performance and reliability of batteries, as expressed by their storage capacity, lifecycle and depth of discharge. It helps build capacity in the South African battery industry, facilitating the improvement of overall market knowledge. The testbed was established within the framework of the World Bank Energy Storage Partnership, which recognises that energy transitions—with increased wind and solar power use—are underway in many countries, and that to integrate renewable resources into grids, energy storage is key.
• The Biomanufacturing Industry Development Centre, where the organisation provides technical product and process development support to small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) within the biomanufacturing sector, with the objective of creating and expanding biomanufacturing activities and associated job creation. During product and process development, the centre assists SMMEs in transitioning their ideas from the concept stage to market-ready products, supporting them until they reach pilot-scale production.
• The Cannabis facility, which has supported 23 SMMEs to develop and market over 40 high-quality, regulatory-compliant, safe, efficacious and affordable cannabis products for local and international markets.
• The Information and Cybersecurity Research Centre, which supports the private and public sectors in aligning with the national cybersecurity policy framework through research and innovation in home-grown identity management, as well as cyber and information security solutions. This encompasses approaches to securely identify and safeguard individuals (cradle to grave) and systems (physical and digital) against vulnerabilities, threats and risks. The centre focuses on securing information, communication technology systems, combating cybercrime, cyberwarfare, identity management, embedded security, as well as governance, risk and compliance.
• The Wind Tunnel facility, which provides scientific research and experimental foundation for the aerodynamic design efforts of the South African aeronautics industry. Testing in a wind tunnel simulates the flow environment encountered by an aircraft during flight. The tunnels, in order of test speed, are the seven-metre wind tunnel, the low-speed wind tunnel, the medium-speed wind tunnel and the high-speed wind tunnel. Numerous airframes have been tested in the CSIR’s wind tunnels, including subsonic types, such as gyrocopters, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles and supersonic airframes of high-speed missiles and projectiles flying at more than four times the speed of sound.

These facilities demonstrate the organisation’s commitment to excellence over the past 80 years and its role in addressing South Africa’s challenges through technological innovation. To highlight the impact of science and innovation on the country’s economy, the CSIR also demonstrated advancements in areas such as transport safety, precision agriculture, oceans and coastal management and digital health.

These exhibitions included a precision agriculture information system that empowers farmers with near real-time insights for precision crop management; digital health interventions, including medical record and data hosting, telemedicine platforms and data analytics tools; an oceans and coasts information system designed to detect and monitor harmful algal blooms, coastal floods, water quality and bilge dumping. Finally, a newly developed laboratory that collects and analyses road safety data from real-world scenarios and simulations, which can be used to improve transportation safety policies and products.

A key focus of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation and all its entities is the implementation of the National Development Plan and associated government strategies, with entities like the CSIR playing a vital role in helping government implement its various programmes. 

“As new trade war threats risk hitting some of our vital industries hard, it is imperative that we diversify market access for South African goods. It will also be crucial to use homegrown innovative capabilities in areas where we have a clear advantage – such as critical minerals, renewable energy, green hydrogen, and our biological heritage – to produce new generations of exportable goods to new markets.

At the same time, we will also have to raise the impact of our technological innovations to build the resilience of vulnerable communities in the face of both climate change and new pandemics.

I see a crucial role for an expanded CSIR in tackling these epic challenges ahead. With more support from, and participation by, the Private Sector, we can help the CSIR to enlarge its impact and footprint.

The central mantra which I have assigned to the DSTI and therefore the CSIR, is for us to work hard over the next five years to Placing Science, Technology, and Innovation at the centre of Government, Education, Industry and Society,” noted Minister Nzimande.

CSIR Chief Executive Officer, Dr Thulani Dlamini, highlighted the importance of the President’s visit to the organisation. “It is such an honour for us to host the President of the country. South Africa’s prosperity depends on our ability to innovate. We have the responsibility to ensure that the research, development and innovation emerging from our organisation translates into real and meaningful impacts, particularly in driving industrialisation and supporting a capable state. I am particularly pleased that the President shares our view that the CSIR has the capacity and the capabilities to do more to support the state.”

Looking back at its history, the CSIR was established with a mandate to conduct directed research and technological innovations that foster scientific and industrial development, ultimately contributing towards improving the quality of life for South Africans.

“Eighty years after our establishment, we continue to build on the legacy of this organisation. There is no doubt in my mind about the impact that the CSIR has made over the past eight decades and continues to make in South Africa. Several examples to mention include technologies for protecting cash-in-transit, the protection of our wildlife in the national parks, technologies that improve the design and performance of our roads, helping our country understand and respond to the impact of climate change, as well as providing low-cost broadband to rural communities and townships. More recently, I can highlight our efforts to support the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic by manufacturing over 18 000 ventilators that saved many lives. This is by no means an exhaustive list of the innovations we have done here at the CSIR,” added Dr Dlamini.

The visit to the CSIR by President Ramaphosa comes at an opportune time for the organisation. The year 2025 marks a significant milestone for the CSIR, an asset that belongs to all the people of South Africa, as it celebrates 80 years of touching lives through innovation.

The YouTube recording of the President’s tour of the CSIR can be accessed here: President Cyril Ramaphosa visits #TeamCSIR - YouTube

Click here for more information on facilities visited.

-ENDS-

Media enquiries:

Presidency:

Vincent Magwenya: Spokesperson to the President
Email: media@presidency.gov.za
 

Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation:

Veli Mbele: Media Liaison Officer for the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation
Email: Veli.Mbele@dsti.gov.za or 064 615 0644
 

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research:

Kulani Chauke: Media Manager
Email: Kchauke@csir.co.za or 071 266 0019

About the CSIR:

The CSIR, an entity of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, is one of Africa’s leading organisations in scientific and technology research, development and implementation. Constituted by an Act of Parliament in 1945 as a science council, the CSIR undertakes directed and multidisciplinary research and technological innovation, as well as industrial and scientific development, to improve the quality of life of all South Africans.

This year, the CSIR celebrates 80 years of touching lives through innovation. For more information, visit www.csir.co.za

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