By Cheruiyot Korir                          May 2 2018

 Deputy President William Ruto has said the government plan to make Kenya a producer and exporter of innovation of technology by intensifying training on science, technology and Mathematics.

Mr. Ruto said technology is a decisive variable in driving the country’s productivity and that to achieve the feat, there was need to have a large pool of skilled personnel across the country to develop new applications and deliver innovations.

The Deputy President said technology will play a big role in in the country’s democratic process, economic development, security and environmental conservation. He noted that,  technology promote democratic values by sharing information to facilitate efficient public services, effective citizen participation and government accountability.

Speaking in Nairobi today at the officially opening of the Microsoft software-testing center, Mr. Ruto said Kenya is a leader in innovation in Sub Saharan Africa because of the hard work of its innovators who developed  mobile-based payment systems and crowd-sourcing platform among others.

He said the government would deploy technology solutions and innovations to achieve universal health care system, cost effective housing development and food security under the big four agenda.

ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru said the vibrant technological innovations in the country were attributed to responsive policy and legislative frameworks that attract investments.

Mr. Mucheru said the flourishing ICT industry in the country was also linked to dividend of high youth population that was skilled.

The Cabinet Secretary said the country was witnessing gradual growth in ICT and pledged government support to grow businesses.