NACI Resources Studies, etc. NATIONAL ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY FOR SOUTH AFRICA Vol 1. 2003

In May 2002, NACI identified the need for developing a National Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy for South Africa. This document presents the National Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (AMTS) for South Africa. The process for developing the strategy was one of extensive consultation within the private, public and education sectors, and care was taken to ensure strategic fit with other national strategies and the avoidance of unnecessary duplication. 

The South African Government, in recognizing the importance of manufacturing in the economy, recently developed two strategies: the National Research and Development Strategy (NRDS) and the Integrated Manufacturing Strategy (IMS). The former, released by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), aims at ensuring that technology resources are better developed, focused and utilized. The
latter, by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), recognizes that South Africa’s future competitiveness will depend on the capacity of the manufacturing sector to master advanced technology domains, to innovate and to meet the precise needs of customers.

The IMS recognizes the need to move from raw material-intensive manufactured goods towards increasingly knowledge-intensive goods and services. The NRDS regards technology and Innovation Missions as central elements for accelerating economic growth, the creation of wealth on a sustainable basis, and the improvement of quality of life of South Africans.