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The Human Sciences Research Council's (HSRC) offices in Cape Town and Durban are to close on 31 December, the HSRC announced today (27 November 1998). This decision affects only six staff members, most of whom have indicated that they will accept retrenchment packages. The HSRC's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Centre will maintain a small unit in Durban to continue its close links with stakeholders in KwaZulu-Natal. According to Dr Michael O'Dowd, Chairman of the HSRC Council, this decision emanates from the stringent reviews of all science, engineering and technology institutions in the country during the past year. Following these reviews, the HSRC has been forced to revise its programme structure, as well as its focus and application of available resources and devise a clear transformation plan for the organisation. Like many other state and semi-state institutions, the HSRC has also had to contend with a shrinking budget and smaller parliamentary grant due to the many funding priorities that the government has to meet. After re-evaluating its regional representation, the HSRC Council therefore decided to close its offices in Cape Town and Durban at the end of this year. Dr O'Dowd said the HSRC's commitment to rendering a service to the various regions will not be affected by this move, as research and liaison with regional role players in government, civil society and the private sector will be conducted from the organisation's head office in Pretoria. Negotiations are also under way to relocate the HSRC's Johannesburg-based Programme for Research Development (PRODDER) to Pretoria when the lease of its current accommodation expires early next year.
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