Nairobi — In December 2004, a World Bank survey conducted locally estimated that approximately 90 per cent, or even more, of all the music listened to in Kenya is pirated.

The same report indicated that the market size for music by then was anywhere between 10 - 32 million recordings per year.

Obviously, this is a huge contribution to the economy in terms of job creation and related benefits.

That is why we are concerned about the continued rise of piracy in this country. A report in this paper yesterday indicated as much.

The alarming levels of piracy, has made this industry a neglected growth frontier for the country.

With the frenzy of digitization and other innovative online business models that are being adopted everyday; piracy is now on top of the agenda that other countries are addressing very seriously.

This is especially because creative industries are increasingly becoming the growth frontier in the knowledge age.

Unfortunately little efforts have gone into remedying the situation locally.

We cannot sit back and watch Cinema halls closing down and publishers and authors who are supposed to feed from their imagination struggle to live through each day when their works are benefiting pirates.

Apart from the formation of the toothless Kenya Copyright Board, there is still little else to show of serious efforts by the government in dealing firmly with the piracy of copyrighted materials. This includes films, music and books.

Operating as a subdued unit within the attorney-general's office, with most of the officers seconded from the AG's, the copyright board has meagre resources.

If it has to win this war, it has to get financial backing.

Currently, the board that is supposed to completely wipe out piracy operates with very few police officers attached to it.

The legal system is frustrating too.

We still do not have a specialised court tackling copyright related matters as happens in countries.

This has frustrated the little efforts put by the board to enforce its mandate.

Then there are the serious legal loopholes especially on materials from foreign artists.

Over the years, the board did not bother with pirates dealing in foreign content arguing that the law did not favour them especially in cases where there are no complainants.

This has created a haven for pirates especially of international materials that currently flood the Kenyan market.

Because most of the foreign films and music selling in the Kenyan market is pirated, authentic Kenyan creative products are not able to match the offers thus unable to sell as fast.

For the country to position itself in the knowledge age, more efforts must be channelled towards arresting piracy.

For that is the only way we can defeat the pirates.