CS Owalo launches Media Council of Kenya Board selection panel
Information, Communication and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo.
Information, Communication and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary (CS) Eliud Owalo has promised to advance media freedom in the country.
“We will continue to grow a professional ecosystem in which the media sets its own standards and ensures there is internal compliance in line with Article 34 of the Constitution,” Mr Owalo said.
The CS was speaking at Teleposta Towers in Nairobi while launching a selection panel that will interview candidates for the Media Council of Kenya’s (MCK) fourth Board and deliver the list to him for subsequent appointment.
The CS urged the selection panel to nurture the process in order to get the best team which will oversee the strategic direction of the council for the next three years.
The 11-member panel comprises various stakeholders among them the Kenya Editors Guild (KEG), Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ), Media Owners Association, Consumers Federation of Kenya, Kenya Correspondents Association and Law Society of Kenya.
Mr Owalo also advised the various professional bodies to resolve their differences amicably.
“Moving forward, we wish to see a harmonious relationship between players in the media space. We have been saddened to observe what can be described as infighting and rivalries, including that between MCK and the Editors Guild,” he said.
The ministry’s Principal Secretary Prof Edward Kisianga’ni reiterated that the government will promote media independence, insisting that they had no preferred candidates for the job.
“We want the media to flourish and have no intention to gag them. Get the right people for the job and we will work with them,” he said.
CS Owalo directed that a Gazette Notice and corresponding advertisements for the position of Board chair and seven members should be published by January 27.
Receiving applications
The last day of receiving applications should be February 3 while the shortlisted candidate should be published by February 10. The interviews he said, should be concluded by February 24.
Mr Owalo urged the selection panel to remain objective and impartial in the process while ensuring they adhere to the principles of gender parity and equal opportunities for disadvantaged groups.
