A decade has passed since the Science, Technology and Innovation Act No. 28 of 2013 was enacted and came into force. It is about time we interrogated its impact on the research as well as the science, technology and innovation (ST&I) ecosystem.
At the end of November, 2024, the ST&I participants at the fourth Kenya National Innovation Week listened to their Head of State make an unprecedented directive for the Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA) to be moved from the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy, and Sports to the Office of the President (OP). This comes with an annual increase in budget plus measures to provide stable yearly funding to increase the agency’s chances of sustainability. This was a welcome move and hearty deserved felicitations to the Board Chair, Prof. Tom Migun Ogada and the visionary CEO Dr. Tonny Kerage Omwansa, as well as the agency staff. Kudos!
This edict comes as we experienced a recent upsurge of public showcasing of activities in the national ST&I and research space. Just that past August, 2024, the National Research Fund (NRF) held the inaugural Kenya National Research Festival 2024, graced by Mr. Felix K. Koskei, the Head of Public Service (read more at: http://yoroguyo.co.ke/2024/08/24/festive-extravaganza-showcasing-the-national-research-enterprise-needed-more-publicity/).
The National Commission for Science, Technology, and Innovation (NACOSTI) recently showcased its research ST&I regulatory activities at the September, 2024 Mombasa International Show and has been actively engaging counties.
These three agencies, namely NACOSTI, NRF and KENIA are creations of the Science, Technology and Innovation Act No. 28 of 2013. The intent of that Act was “to facilitate the promotion, co-ordination and regulation of the progress of science, technology and innovation in the country; to assign priority to the development of science, technology and innovation; to entrench science, technology and innovation into the national production system and for connected purposes”. The act responded to the conventional wisdom for need to create a tripartite of three distinct institutions to effectively coordinate the diverse activities within the ST&I ecosystem.
The stated objective of NACOSTI is “to regulate and assure quality in the science, technology and innovation sector and advise the Government in matters related thereto”.
KeNIA was expected “to develop and manage the Kenya National Innovation System, and for that purpose, toinstitutionalize linkages between universities, research institutions, the private sector, the Government, and other actors in that System”.
On the other hand, the object of the NRF was to provide funding “to facilitate research for the advancement of science, technology and innovation.”
We applaud the implementation of the act since it has helped develop some strategic vision, cohesion and and positive developmental trajectory to the ST&I ecosystem. By the way, it is during this very same time that MPESA revolutionized the management of financial transfers in Kenya.
But is this recent presidential edict going to be productive to the ecosystem? Time will tell.
The question of where to best house these three lever institutions within the structure of government has never been properly resolved. With the absorption of the functions of the previous Ministry of Science andTechnology to the Ministry of Education was considered as the best option to house the three. After all, matters ST&I are driven by the universities and the Commission for University Education (CUE) is housed in this ministry. You can understand why we were astonished when the newly elected President Ruto in 2022 transferred KeNIA to youth and sports when his administration took office. Why not to ICT? Indeed, why not even to Treasury? NACOSTI is meant to be the official scientific adviser to government. Why let the commission be swallowed in the overly busy education docket? Why not increase funding for the NRF? Why? Why? So many questions but no answers. Worse still, NRF is the funding agency for all matters research and innovation. The Fund has experienced annual drop in funding since its establishment in 2015 when it received 3 billion, when I joined as founder trustee. A national commitment of 2% of the GDP remains a pipe dream. A good professor friend asked me, so what happens when the next administration takes over? Is there a mechanism to ensure that KENIA survives, or indeed the other two sister institutions?
During the tenure of late President Arap Moi and with the advent of HIV/AIDS, a ‘Chief Scientist’ position was created and placed at the the OP. Prof. Arthur Obel was the beneficiary as he promoted his dubious Perl Omega. The transfer of KeNIA maybe more due to the negotiating skills of CEO Omwansa who may have convinced President Ruto that matters innovation are likely to be his legacy in the face of a rebellious Gen Zee. I recall that Dr. Fred Matiang’i, in his capacity as the head of the education docket had an avid dislike for NRF and wanted it disbanded and merged with the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB). A ground-sounding intervention that alerted the promoters of NRF (two of whom are current county governors) thwarted the move. Matiang’i is now on record as wanting to be the next numero uno policy maker. So what happens to these three ST&I lever organizations, if he wins.
The late Prof. Thomas R. Odhiambo, founder of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) and the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) had lobbied for a higher presence of scientists in Kenyan foreign missions and indeed a ‘Science Desk’ was established in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He argued that scientists should drive science diplomacy and the use of diplomatic action to facilitate international scientific collaboration. Will President Ruto be so persuaded as he moves to reorganize his government?
Soon and very soon we will know.