Science and technology received a massive boost in East Africa with the news in June of big increases in government spending in Uganda and Tanzania.

In announcing their respective national budgets for 2010-11, the two governments left no doubt that science and research has become a new priority.

Tanzania has allocated 30 billion Tanzanian shillings ($20 million) to the nation's Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH). The new funding represents a massive 30-fold increase from last year and the agency is set to enhance its status as a key research body.

The boost comes after President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete's pledge last year to increase spending on science from 0.3 percent of GDP to 1 percent. The new level does not quite reach that target, but it has been welcomed nonetheless, with COSTECH director Hassan Mshinda describing it as "a major boost."

"We were expecting to get more, but there was a drought last year and donors have cut their contributions. But for the first time, R&D has been identified as a priority area in the Tanzanian budget," he told SciDev.Net, a leading science news website.

In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni's government announced a 30 percent salary increase for the country's scientists. The budget allocates 18 billion Ugandan shillings ($8 million) for the salary boost, as well as increased funding to the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, Enterprise Uganda and Makerere University in Kampala.

More good news for East Africa's science and technology sectors was found in the Kenyan budget, also released in June, which allocates 560 million Kenyan shillings ($7 million) to upgrade its 14 science and technology colleges.

Algerian Boost

It seems that lifting the importance of science has become a new priority for many governments on the continent. In May, the Algerian parliament approved a bill to spend 100 billion dinars ($1.48 billion) on science over five years, an increase from 0.5 percent to 1 percent of GDP. It is considered an unusually high level of funding for the Arab world, which averages 0.2 percent of GDP in spending on scientific research.

The move is designed to reverse the "brain drain" effect in Algeria. It has been reported that some 150 Algerian researchers in Canada, Europe and the United States have indicated they are willing to return home if they can be assured economic security. 

SciDev.Net quoted Ali Bougaroura, Rector of Mila University, who said the new program "will allow a quantum leap in scientific research because it reduces bureaucracy and gives research centers more autonomy in decision-making, especially regarding financing projects."

Hoping to kick-start scientific research, the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education called for research proposals to be submitted for evaluation by a committee of international experts. The ministry aims to sign two-year research contracts in November this year.

Tech Bytes

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