Kenya’s TV stations, including Citizen TV, NTV and KTN have suffered yet another blow after the government ordered all state adverts to run on Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC).
Principal Secretary for Broadcasting & Telecommunications Prof. Edward Kisiang’ani made the announcement in a circular dated March 8.
The PS sent the letter to all his counterparts across the ministries, CEOs of State Corporations, CEOs of Independent Commissions and Vice Chancellors of Public Universities.
Similarly, he copied it to the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei and Attorney General Justin Muturi.
“In light of the foregoing, all public sector electronic (radio and television) advertisements from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS) that fall under the National Government, Independent Commissions and Public Universities shall be handled by the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) upon authorization by the Government Advertising Agency (GAA),” read part of the letter.
The directive’s reference was made to a circular by the National Treasury in 2015 that communicated the Cabinet’s decision to centralize public sector advertising.
In the Circular written by the then Treasury CS Henry Rotich, there was creation of the Government Advertising Agency (GAA).
The GAA was created with the mandate of being the coordinating institution for all public sector advertisements.
According to the letter by PS Kisiang’ani, the centralization of public sector advertising was in line with the Government’s desire to cut costs.
This was through a coordinated and well-managed procurement process that ensured maximum service levels at minimal costs.
At the same time, the PS noted that the move was part of addressing the situation where the government owes media houses substantial amounts of money in pending bills.
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“Similarly, the current situation where Government owes media houses a substantial amount of money in pending bills calls for adoption of strategies that will ensure a smooth flow of public sector advertising services while maintaining zero debt levels,” noted the PS.
Reviving of KBC
The move according to the PS aims at ensuring the Government leverages on the provisions within its realm to revive and fully utilize its institutions.
Additionally, the government has explained that it is keen to revive KBC through a modernization framework that will make it the premier national broadcaster in Africa.
To achieve the effort, the government further noted that it requires the national broadcaster to take the lead in the dissemination of information in Kenya.
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“The national network coverage commanded by KBC gives an assurance for a nationwide reach by advertisers,” the letter added.
This directive comes after Radio Africa Group’s Star newspaper bagged a lucrative government content distribution deal.
The newspaper in January 2024 won the tender to distribute the government owned MyGov weekly newspaper insert.
Initially, MyGov was distributed by all the three mainstream newspapers Standard, – Nation, and Star at a combined cost of Ksh60 million monthly.
The move came after the government decided to break away from mainstream newspapers were understood to have been squeezing more from the Government Advertising Agency (GAA). Private media houses are likely to be hit hard by the directive, owing to the revenue they rake in from state advertising.
