MoSTI emphasises promotion of science to village level

By Nathan Ngobi

On Tuesday, November 10, 2020 Ugandans turned up at Kyambogo University to commemorate the World Science Day held under the theme ‘Science For and With Society’ at a ‘scientific’ function graced by Vice President Edward Kiwanuka Sekandi.

To understand and internalise the commemoration activities The Second Opinion exclusively caught up with Mr. Arthur Makara, the Commissioner Science, Technology, Innovation Advancement and Outreach in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MoSTI) to share the achievements and challenges the Ministry faces, more so during this period when the world is threatened by the Covid19 pandemic.

“At this time when the world is struggling with the global Covid19 pandemic, the focus of World Science Day is on ‘Science for and with Society in dealing with the global pandemic,”’ he says.

According to Mr. Makara, who is also the ministry spokesperson, their priority now is to promote science to the common person in the villages.

“We are not celebrating this time; we are commemorating the day because it is not proper to celebrate in a situation where we are hit with Covid19,” Mr. Makara says, before detailing a chronology of activities for the day, the second commemoration by Uganda, after UNESCO declared the World Science Day in 2002.

According to Makara, the World Science Day came to life after the adoption of Resolution 31 C (20), with Uganda becoming a ‘bidding member’, and in 2016 President Yoweri Museveni establishing the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. This, the ministry says in its Mission Statement, is to specifically “provide leadership, an enabling environment and resources for scientific research and knowledge-based development for industrialization, competitiveness and employment creation leading to a sustainable economy.”

Mr. Makara notes that during this unprecedented and novel health crisis, UNESCO, the UN agency mandated to oversee scientific progress has endeavored to bring science closer to society and to bolster the critically needed international scientific collaborations, in strengthening public awareness on the role of science for peaceful and sustainable societies.

According to Mr. Makara, UNESCO’s response to Covid-19 is structured around three major pillars: promoting international scientific cooperation, ensuring access to water and supporting ecological reconstruction.

“Our Ugandan scientists are working hard, closely with other world scientists, to come up with a solution over the pandemic and collaborating in vaccine trials on Covid19,” Mr. Makara says of the pandemic that has ravaged the globe.

According to the Commissioner, President Yoweri Museveni is one of the lead proponents of scientific innovations in Uganda and has, through the Presidential Initiative on Diseases/Epidemics, directed that funds be provided for research.

As a result, about 20 Ugandan scientists are being supported under the programme to among other things, find a vaccination that can cure or contain coronavirus, and there is also a provision for innovations in herbal medicine.

Other science-related research projects that are being supported include among others: the Banana Research Development (Centre) in Bushenyi (BIRDC) for value addition on bananas, environment, irrigation, solar and the automotives like the Kiira Motors car project in Jinja.

“The Ministry (MoSTI) intends to build a connectivity network of scientists and key players to strengthen science and inter-dependency. For instance, if Kiira Motors builds a bus there must be some people to make tyres, paint, car lights, wiring and many others within the science sector,” Mr. Makara says, and shades more light on the President’s 2020 directive on the non-importation of buses in the near future.

He also say the country wants to develop the space scientists programme to tap into its various benefits.

He also says plans are underway to develop science business knowledge hubs in different municipalities across the country, a development that will stimulate Ugandans to view science as a business.

However, despite the impressive scientific blueprints initiated by the MoSTI, the downside to their efforts is the lack of public awareness about the advantages science bodes for society, right from home to the work place.

But Mr. Makara says the ministry is not in any way deterred in its endeavours to develop a robust ‘scientific society’ in Uganda.

We shall work out with the media to promote the awareness of science to the public. There is also the issue of fear among the people like we are now in the 4th Industrial Revolution which requires interconnectivity of science but most people fear and that is how we missed out on the Green Revolution,” Mr. Makara notes

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