Innovate for growth, urges science team

Kenyans might not realise their objectives under the country’s long-term economic development plan, if they do not invest adequately in research, science and innovation.

National Council for Science and Technology chief executive Prof Shaukat Abdulrazak said research, science and innovation play a key role in growth of a country and decried the low number of inventions patented.

“The country allocates a paltry 0.3 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product to science and innovations and this is not enough to stimulate economic growth to the levels expected to achieve Vision 2030,” he told participants during the World Intellectual Day Property in Nairobi on Tuesday.

Comparatively, he said, Kenya ranks poorly with South Africa, which registered 462 patents between 2005 and 2009 to Kenya’s 24 in the same period.

Prof Abdulrazak said countries like Singapore and Malaysia that were at par with Kenya employed their innovations to attain fast growth attributing it to the impressive economic growths they have registered.

He urged the academia to stop publishing their work which eventually ends up gathering dust on shelves but instead refocus their findings on how to stimulate economic development of the country.

“Innovation is the backbone of development and should not take a back seat as it is in Kenya. This needs to change,” Prof Abdulrazak, who is also the secretary of National Council for Science and Technology, a statutory institution charged with advising, promoting and coordinating science, technology and research in the country.

Out of the 12 innovations funded from the Sh300 million the council received in the 2010/2011 financial year, 90 per cent are from young Kenyans aged between 23-24.

Industrialisation assistant minister Ndiritu Muriithi said they are in talks with Treasury to see how best to finance innovations.

“We understand that commercial banks will not cater for the need for innovations that might take 10 years to realise full production hence the need to get funding from Treasury,” he said.

He said there is need to come up with new ideas saying it was the only ticket to creating jobs and raising people’s incomes.

“There will be no jobs and improved earnings unless there are actual enterprises to produce things,” said Mr Ndititu.

He said local researchers have not come out to prove their worth.

“It is almost scandalous that for the last 20 years, we have had only 42 patents,” he decried.

Mr Ndiritu said that since independence, Kenyan universities and other publicly funded research and development institutions have only applied for the registration of five patents, yet tax payers expect them be lead to the formation of companies.