Funding constraints hurt South Africa’s science department

South Africa's treasury has ignored an application for additional funding from the Department of Science and Technology, leaving officials concerned that it will struggle to implement its programmes.

Thomas Auf der Heyde, the DST’s deputy director-general for human capital and knowledge systems, told a parliamentary committee for science that his department applied for an extra R1.5 billion (US$137.3 million) from the 2015/2016 ministerial medium-term expenditure framework programme.

“South Africa’s science system cannot absorb any more cuts in funding without dire consequences,” Auf der Heyde told the committee last month.