MBS pools in K12m into Science and Technology Fund
The Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) has given the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) K12million to support the launch and operationalization of the Science and Technology Fund.
MBS Board Chairperson Agnes Mwangwela said during a cheque presentation on Tuesday in Lilongwe that the initiative by NCST to establish a fund will go a long way in supporting the industrialization of the country through research, science technology and innovation.
“The fund is one way of ensuring that there is proper support to research and development, innovation and technology promotion and utilization of activities,” she said
Mwangwela said science and technology is key to any economy.
In his acceptance remarks, NCST Chairperson for Finance and Audit, Richard Mdyetseni, commended the bureau for the financial assistance to advance science, technology, research and Innovation in the country.
“Malawi is blessed with rich minds that have the ability to design scientific and technological solutions for our myriad socio-economic problems,” he said.
Mdyetseni bemoaned lack of sustainable financing mechanisms to support research and development in scientific innovations and technologies as one of the main challenges facing development of the science and technology sector in Malawi.
In the absence of the Science and Technology Fund, it has been extremely difficult for scientists and researchers to obtain the necessary financial resources to undertake research and development as well as generate technology that can support the development of the country, he said.
However, Mdyetseni said the fund has been established in accordance with section 24 of the Science and Technology Act of 2003.
Government has, for the first time, allocated K291 million to the fund with MBS as the first statutory body to support the fund.
