DSTI Quarter 3 2025/26 Performance

Video The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) reported that for Quarter 3 2025/26 it achieved 92.5% of targets, meeting 37 of 40. Key achievements included creating 26 jobs through the demonstrators model, supporting 60 grassroots innovators to commercialise technology projects, and awarding 4,931 bursaries and internships to students, prioritising Black South Africans, women, and persons with disabilities. The Department reported that of its total adjusted budget of R9,398bn, it had spent R7,292bn by end of Quarter 3 which was 11% lower than the planned expenditure of R8,152bn. Committee members raised questions about the underspending and missed targets. Concern was expressed about the near zero percent spending on procurement in rural, underdeveloped, and township areas. Other questions focused on the representation of people with disabilities and the alignment efficiency of DSTI entities such as the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), National Research Foundation (NRF) and South African National Space Agency (SANSA). Given current funding levels, they asked if DSTI’s goals remain aspirational rather than achievable as well as if strategic initiatives like the South African Geodesy Working Group and future international obligations were sustainable.