By Fredrick Obura
Software piracy is likely to reduce following the Government’s intervention to remove duty on imports.
Local ICT uptake has improved with better infrastructure that has seen entrepreneurs venture into information technology (IT) businesses.
The exorbitant price of genuine software has seen the IT industry either use pirated software or the free and open source softwares for programming.
The move continues to affect investors such as Microsoft and other similar companies, who have pumped in more money in research for quality genuine software.
The commercial value of unlicensed software installed on personal computers in Eastern and Southern Africa which excludes South Africa, reached $108 million (Sh9 billion) in 2011.
About 83 per cent of software deployed on Personal Computers during the year were pirated.
This is at almost double the global piracy rate for PC software, which is 42 per cent.
These are among the findings of the Business Software Alliance (BSA) 2011 Global Software Piracy Study, which evaluates the state of software piracy around the world.
The findings indicate current efforts to address negative impact of piracy in the region needs to be continued to maximise its impact.
“In order to restore dignity in the industry and attract foreign investments, I propose to remove duty on all imported software to make it cheaper to our people and further attract foreign investors in this industry,” said Finance Minister Njeru Githae in parliament last week during 2012/13 Budget Speech.
Economic boost
Latest Stories
- Maji marefu’s futile effort to find stolen property
- Uhuru meets Governors over their roles
- Can chickens really be cleverer than a toddler? Studies suggest animals can master numeracy and basic engineering
- Freedom of media under threat in Eastern Africa
- Rapid desertification in Kenya threatening livelihood
- The story of exiled journalists
Business Beat
Crazy Monday
Home & Away
Eve Woman
Generation Next
Sunday Magazine
