‘Implementation problem’ hampers South Africa’s evidence-based plans

Policies are good but execution lets government down, webinar hears

Although South Africa’s government has good plans and policies for science-related challenges like climate change, implementation tends to be shoddy, limiting the uptake of knowledge in policymaking, a group of scientists told a webinar this week.

Joel Botai, a chief scientist at the South African Weather Service, praised the government’s plans as “very well drafted” during a 3 August discussion held as part of National Science Week to discuss what stops science from influencing policy. He added: “The problem is the implementation and interpretation of the policies.”