Software users to wait longer for price cut

By Fredrick Obura, Johannesburg

Consumers will wait a little bit longer to profit from recent reduction of import duty on software by the Government.

In the 2012/13 Budget, Finance Minister Njeru Githae in his maiden Budget Speech removed the five per cent import duty on software to make it cheaper and also attract foreign investors to the local ICT industry.

Microsoft, a major player in the Software industry hailed the Government’s move but said it was weighing on a number of options before passing the benefits to consumers.

“The gesture from the Government is good and encouraging. It removes trade barriers that has proved expensive to investors,” said Hennie Loubser regional manager for Microsoft in West, East, Central Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands.

“The prices of our products are dictated by competition and other factors, competition pressure matters to Microsoft in determining prices of its product. But we will continue to add more value to our products to offer consumers better experience,” he said in an interview.

Speaking at the Windows 8 Demo in South Africa, Loubser said the Company was coming up with an African plan to strengthen its presence and promote development on the continent. In May with partners such as Nokia, US Department of State, African Development Bank, infoDev, and DEMO launched a new partnership to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa.

The Liberalising Innovation Opportunity Nations partnership seeks to mobilise knowledge, expertise and resources of leading public and private institutions to encourage and enhance Africa’s innovation ecosystem and to spur entrepreneurship across the continent.

Building solutions

“Microsoft sees Africa as a major market among the six emerging economies, technology would help move its countries to the next level,” he said. “Our investment in the Africa plan includes working with IT Community to build solutions for Africans, be it in the health, education or in other areas of great importance,” he said.

“Microsoft’s presence in developers’ forum is going to be felt through partners’ we are working with.” He said the company would donate software, and offer expertise to groups focused on creating influential projects. He was speaking ahead of this year’s launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system to be launched later in the year.

The new operating system succeeding Windows 7 delivers new applications from Microsoft and partners. Beyond the new apps from Microsoft and partners, customers will also experience refinements across the product.