NAIVASHA, 9TH Feb 2023(MICDE)Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy (MIC&DE) State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunication (B&T) Principal Secretary, Prof Edward Kisiang’ani has advocated for the espousal of a communication budget to facilitate coverage and documentation of information.
PS Kisiang’ani said that communication is the main agenda of MIC&DE and the staff needs travel enablement. “We invite you to support us. When there are budget cuts in the area of communication, you are disabling the Ministry. You disable their operations, because that is their main agenda. We look like we are not doing much in that field since our officers cannot travel and report,” the PS said.
He further said that communication budget should be embedded in every project of the government. “The practice in the past is that communication is an afterthought, most people remember they need communicators only after they have rolled out programs. We request Senate that you resist that practice and give us a budget. As the Senate, please approve the communication budget.”
PS Kisiang’ani was making a presentation on the Status of the State Department for B&T to the Senate Standing Committee on ICT on 9th February, 2023 during the Senate Work Planning and Induction Retreat held in Naivasha.
He stated that MIC&DE needs more technical personnel especially in the Telecommunication sector. “We have come up with a new schedule to introduce new positions to make sure the Ministry is strong enough to advise the Telecommunication sector accordingly.
Parliament will soon see some of the legal proposals that we are making for review of policy, legal and institutional frameworks for broadcasting and Telecommunication sector.”
The PS revealed that plans are underway to review the Kenya Information and Communications Act (KICA), “We are revising KICA so that it’s in tandem with current changes. We are trying to do some bridging of the digital divide in public broadcasting services and postal services, through development of e-commerce policy in the country.”
PS Kisiang’ani said that the Government Advertising Agency (GAA) needs policy guidance to enhance its audience reach through emerging new media. “This needs some legislation and we shall propose to the Senate and National Assembly to see what they can do.” He also requested the Senate to reconsider the status and positioning of Telkom as a strategic communications institution in the country.
He said that the Information officers working at the Kenya News Agencies (KNA) are underfunded which affects the entire process of news gathering and propagating government policies.
The PS said the government is empowering KNA in an endeavor to strengthen collaboration with county governments in the coverage area. “We can have KBC covering county government parliamentary sessions, therefore we need support and establishment of county publications by KNA.”
PS Kisiang’ani noted that the Government Spokesperson’s office ought to be competitively filled and lauded the President’s guidance on the already advertised position asking that Kenyans who suit the qualifications need to apply accordingly.
He said that the Government Spokesperson should be a strategic communicator of government projects who can relay information to the public in a tactical manner.
The PS said the Spokesperson will also be required to ascertain how to counter propaganda with facts and give examples of how other nations have handled similar scenarios.
While making another presentation before the Standing Committee on National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity and Regional integration on behalf of MIC&DE Cabinet Secretary Mr. Eliud Owalo, PS Kisiang’ani said the Kenya Kwanza government sought the leadership mandate to bring about unity, “…you must unite people who can eat the same food, that brings them together; who speak the same language, that brings them together; who communicate the same way, who access facilities and amenities the same way.”
He stated that through the ministry’s flagship projects, government aims to leverage on ICT to facilitate Kenya’s transformative agenda based on the Bottom-Up Economic Transformational agenda that aims to bring cohesion, equal access to opportunities and bridging gaps and reducing hostility between the high in society and those at the bottom of the pyramid.
He cited examples such as the use of the Media Council as a regulator of media to curtail the harmful threats to misinformation and disinformation that affect cohesion in the country.
In the same breath, he called upon Senate and National Assembly to help fast track changes in legal frameworks to enhance the performance of the ministry’s agencies, while calling for the establishment of others such as the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication to gain semi autonomy in fostering its ability to function at optimal levels and perhaps elevate its stature to a higher institution of learning chattered to offer degree level media training.
Prof. Kisiang’ani pledged the ministries willingness and readiness to cooperate with parliament and other mandated bodies such as the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) in delivering better services to Kenyans.
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