Innovation Strategy of South Africa under Transition: Technology in the Time of Cholera

This article explores major evolution stages of innovation policy in South Africa which is now in transition to constitutional democracy. The author seeks to identify prerequisites for the new innovation system in the country and to understand the role of the government and the Ministry of Science and Technology in driving the system. The paper also analyses new trends in scientific research with regard to health and services sectors accompanied by the scarcity of skilled R&D personnel. The empirical sources for the paper are policy documents and a range of science and technology databases.