A South African government proposal would make it compulsory for practising scientists to register with the country’s scientific council, or face up to a year in prison. However, many scientists are not currently registered and are unaware of the proposed legislation. Researchers who have spoken to Chemistry World raised several concerns about the proposed rule, including fears that it could disadvantage early-career researchers in particular.
The South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (Sacnasp), which was set up in 2003, requires practising natural scientists to register with the council. This includes those working in academia and industry across 25 fields such as chemical, agricultural, mathematical and environmental science. However, many researchers never registered with Sacnasp, which currently has around 20,000 registered scientists. This is less than a quarter of the number of people working in South Africa’s R&D sector, according to recent official estimates.
In March, the government released a proposal to replace the 2003 legislation that formed Sacnasp, with a bill that it claims will ‘protect and promote the public interests by regulating the conduct of practising natural scientists.’ The bill proposes penalties for scientists who fail to register with Sacnasp, including suspensions and the possibility of up to a year in prison. Sacnasp’s acting chief executive recently told Nature that the aim is ‘to professionalise the natural sciences through registration and regulation’ in order to protect professional standards, the public and the environment.
The director general of the South African government’s science department, Maphuti Madiga, confirmed to Chemistry World that the bill will be introduced to cabinet before April next year.
Nikoletta Bathori, a chemist at Cape Peninsula University of Technology and current president of the South African Chemical Institute (Saci), says many scientists she spoke to are unaware of the proposed bill. ‘I broke the ice for them,’ she says.
Bathori says that registering with Sacnasp ‘looks good on your visa application’ but in her view, that is the only benefit. ‘There’s no issue with having regulatory bodies, however, in our case, the compulsory registration has no real meaning’.
In May, Saci submitted a statement expressing its concerns to Sacnasp as part of the government’s public call for comment, which closed in May. Bathori says that Saci is still waiting to hear back from the council and is unsure when this bill is meant to come into effect. ‘We literally know nothing … we are so much in the dark,’ she says.
There’s no logical reason why we have to belong to this umbrella association
Nikoletta Bathori, president, South African Chemical Institute
One of the main concerns with this bill, Bathori says, is that the scope of Sacnasp is broad. She says that government officials on Sacnasp’s board outnumber spokespeople from voluntary associations like Saci, which represent specific groups of scientists. ‘Sacnasp currently recognises 48 voluntary associations and at most seven of them can be represented on the board,’ she says. In Bathori’s view, ‘there’s no logical reason why we have to belong to this umbrella association, which, if you read it carefully, offers nothing [for those registered].’
High costs
Additionally, there are concerns about registration fees. Registering with Sacnasp costs 1920 South African rand (£88) each year. There is also a one-off registration fee of 2560 rand or 5410 rand for South African and non-South African scientists, respectively. Minimum wage in South Africa equates to around 5500 rand per month, though Bathori notes that many academics earn more than that.
‘The problem is that if you are required to be registered with this association before you are allowed to look for a job, that is not sustainable, because who can pay 5000 rands if you are unemployed,’ says Bathori. She says that these fees also disproportionately affect younger scientists, who earn less. Youth unemployment is also high in South Africa, with 46% of people aged 15–34 unemployed in 2025. ‘Instead of helping young scientists, [requiring registration to Sacnasp] is cutting them off at the knees,’ Bathori says. She adds that registering with Sacnasp takes a while, which may make it difficult for international postdoc or visiting students on short-term contracts to carry out research in the country.
There is a legitimate need for professional standards, accountability and regulation where scientific practice impacts on health or the environment
Pinkie Ntola, Durban University of Technology
Earl Prinsloo, a biotechnologist at Rhodes University in Makhanda, hopes that ‘this [proposed bill] maintains our level of credibility,’ he says, though adds that this ‘may be easier for some to achieve than others’. Sacnasp requires registered scientists to carry out continuous professional development activities, such as publishing academic papers. However, Bathori notes that this impacts scientists who are more heavily involved with teaching, such as academic lecturers, who often have less time for research.
Yet, Pinkie Ntola, a materials chemist at Durban University of Technology in South Africa, thinks that there is a ‘strong argument’ for regulating scientists, including chemists. ‘Chemistry has a direct relationship with people, industry and the environment,’ she says, ‘so there is a legitimate need for professional standards, accountability and regulation where scientific practice can have an impact on human health or the environment.’
However, Ntola believes that there needs to be greater clarity about ‘the boundaries of what constitutes professional scientific practice’. ‘I think that needs to be very clearly defined so that scientists understand when registration is required,’ she says.
Chemistry World approached Sacnasp for comment but has received no reply at the time of publication.
