The government is keen on ensuring unpaid bills owed to the media is cleared in due course. Speaking during a roundtable with media stakeholders, Information, Communication and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Dr Margaret Nyambura Ndung’u said while all unpaid bills were forwarded to the taskforce, some of the claims presented have either been already cleared or cannot be verified.
“We note and acknowledge there is confusion and lack of a clear government advertising policy and feelings of a discriminatory government advertising regime,” said Dr Ndung’u.
According to the CS, the prompt payment of the bills will ensure media sector have access to funds in order to meet their wage obligations.
“On the matter of prioritising workers’ salaries, we all agree that the government has no obligation to dictate how media owners spend their revenue, my ministry will engage media owners on prioritizing of workers’ welfare and pay as soon as the pending bills payment are ready to be made,” she added.
During the media roundtable, Dr Ndung’u further stated that the Cabinet is finalizing a memo on restructuring the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) to enhance its delivery on its mandate in fulfilment of its obligations to its employees, the government and Kenyans at large.
Additionally, Dr Ndung’u said her ministry is keen on ensuring the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) board is constituted in the immediate term as final decision of 10 suits filed which has hindered establishment of a proper board to oversee functions of the council.
“The Ministry is in the process of reviewing the Act to bring some stability in the regulation of the sector in general and the appointment of the Council members in particular. We promise to involve stakeholders in all the processes to ensure that the proposed Amendments eliminate the confusion on the role of different stakeholders,” stated Dr Ndung’u.
In a bid to streamline licensing in the broadcasting sector, the ministry is targeting to eliminate those who either have no capacity or are holding licences and frequencies for speculative purposes.
As at September this year, Kenya had 252 radio stations and 246 Television stations.
