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"id": 334141,
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, integration of science, technology and innovation in national production processes is central to the success of the Government’s policy, priorities and programmes as outlined under the Vision 2030 and as mandated by the Constitution itself. The Bill underscores the importance of mainstreaming science, technology and innovation in all sectors of the economy to ensure that Kenyans benefit from acquisition and utilization of available science, technology and innovation capacities and capabilities to improve their qualities of life. The development of our necessary scientific technological and innovational capacities would enable the country regenerate a portfolio of tradable goods and services. By so doing, create quality good jobs, facilitate high value export, reduce the cost of doing business, deploy efficient and effective infrastructure, protect and enhance the overall national economy. This is, however, hampered by a number of challenges which include legal and regulatory frameworks, lack of prioritization of national, strategic science, technology and innovation areas which is integration of the industry in the academia, inadequate funding of science, technology and innovation, a weak uncoordinated and fragmented national innovation system, inadequate science, technology and infrastructure, weak knowledge transfer systems and low commercialization of innovations among others. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, The Science Technology Act, Cap.250 mainly provides for the advisory role of the National Council for Science and Technology to the Government on science and technology matters. However, the Act is weak on the regulatory and coordination of research in the country. The Act also does not address the issues relating to innovation and funding of research. This has resulted in major challenges in ensuring a dynamic innovation system for the country. Kenya has inadequate and uncoordinated mechanisms to identify the key intervention areas that are needed in order to achieve national development goals. There has been no national research agenda to guide the researchers. I am happy that I am moving this Bill soon after the Minister for Agriculture has gone through the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) Bill, 2012 because they complement each other. Each research institute and the university in the past have developed their own research programmes without regard to what the others were doing. Many research programmes are fragmented and have not been appraised to address specific challenges of Vision 2030. In Kenya the triple helix of government, industry, universities and research institutes is missing the key member industry in the innovation systems of the country. Currently, the Government and the public academia are integrated, but private education and industry are excluded. The linkages between the researchers and industry which are expected to use the research outcomes are also very weak. The result has been the lack of commercialization of research findings. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, funding for science, technology and innovation and related activities in Kenya has been inadequate and without effective coordination mechanisms in the face of the competing demands for the national budgets. Funding for research has been very low and researchers have had to rely on foreign funding with the danger of pursuing of foreign agenda. A pool of highly skilled human resource is critical for science, technology and innovation development and by extension sustainable growth and development of a country. The country, Kenya, therefore requires an adequate pool of highly skilled human"
}