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{
    "id": 404619,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/404619/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 177,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "We have had a number of innovations which have come out of Kenya. For example, we have the Numerical Machining Complex (NMC) which came up with the Pioneer Nyayo Car and we have not moved out of that. There are four cars which are just exhibits. The car starts and moves, but we need a lot of money to commercialize the project. I am told that Prof. Wanjohi is the new Chairman of NMC and they are doing a lot of good work, to the extent that we have come up with an irrigation pump of its kind. Kenyans have not bought them, yet Somalia is using them, since they have been bought by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). So, the other challenge is that whenever we come up with an innovation and it works, we need to use it also. So, the idea of buy Kenya, build Kenya must start with us. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI), during the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) --- Sen. Kiraitu was in the Government when our current President came up with the ESP. The KIRDI was told to produce a welding machine and it has done so. But the problem that we have is to patent and commercialize it. The money to move to that stage is not there. That is why we should start putting a lot of emphasis on innovation technology at the initial stage of education, so that a broader spectrum of Kenyans can begin to appreciate science and its value. Now that we have gone into counties, funds can actually also be set aside by the county governments. This money can be accessed in form of scholarships, the way Sen. Kiraitu proposed. It is not unique. India and Singapore did it. Money is set aside specifically for a targeted group of people. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if you go to Industrial Area, you will find a lot of people working in the Jua Kali sector. Naturally, there are some Kenyans who have the tendency to like doing technical subjects. Many such people come from Nyanza and Western, but I do not know how many technical colleges still exist in those places. Some of them closed and some were taken over by universities. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Kenyan that I mentioned last week is called Zachary from Nyahururu. He is a trainer in a polytechnic in Rwanda, which is now producing farm products and machinery. He told me that he is paid a salary of Kshs250,000 per month and he is a higher national diploma holder. I do not know how much we pay such people here. As I mentioned, we have very brilliant people, but we lose them along the way. We had to negotiate for somebody called Dr. Chelule to come to KIRDI from England. Now that he has come to KIRDI, I do not know whether they have the support to do research. He was doing research on the metal that can be used in hospitals to repair broken limps and so on. They told me that they are working on it, but there is no funding here in Kenya. He wishes to go back to England. That means that we do not value even the people that we have already produced. We need to motivate even the people who are already on the ground. The Vision 2030 that we talk about should not be just a document in the shelves, but something that we practise. However, we cannot do it if we do not come up with procedures and policies to anchor this. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank all my colleagues. If we go this direction Kenya will not be the same again. In the next five years, we will have made a tremendous step. The University of Nairobi must do more research. Likewise, the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology should be given more funding. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}