Knowledge economy discussion ‘stale and stagnant’, says minister

African policy discussions about the ‘knowledge economy’ have become “sterile, stale and stagnant”, South African science minister Derek Hanekom said last week.

In a keynote address to the 2013 Knowledge Economy Network Forum in Cape Town on 22 October Hanekom criticised the habit of using the buzzword loosely and without proper understanding.

Policymakers agree on the need to invest in science and technology for development, he told the meeting—but a knowledge economy is about solving real problems in the real world rather than simply having or creating knowledge.