Kabogo threatens to deny adverts to media houses that continuously hit the government

ICT Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo now says the government will ensure a fair spread of state advertisements across the media houses to curb the current monopoly by a few, with the exception of those that continuously bash the state.

Speaking during the annual Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) convention in Mombasa, Kabogo further promised the timely payment of state advertisements.

"I have asked the Ministry to make sure that all government advertising is paid on time, and this is something we have brought to Cabinet, and we will stop biting more than we can chew, meaning advertise only what you can pay for," he said.

"I will not sit here and promise you that I will continue to promote KBC and My Gov as the only way of advertising, but of course, if you are a commercial entity, and your job is to continuously hit on government, it's painful for the government to continue putting money where you are. That is the truth because you cannot continue bashing me as Kabogo, and then I give you my adverts, there has to be a relationship. So, let's build this relationship," he told the participants.

He further revealed plans to split public and commercial broadcasting, so that public broadcasting is financed by the Treasury as 'the rest finances itself'.

"That is hot on my desk," he added as he called on the participants to share concerns with his ministry.

"I also want to assure you that I'm a listening CS, my doors are open, raise these issues and bring them to me so that they can become part of my diary on the things that are pending for me to do."

Kabogo further assured the Guild that cases of journalists getting attacked in the line of duty are not government policy.

"We have seen sad stories that you have aired here on journalists being harassed, killed, and I want to tell you that is not a government policy. We have to find space to work together, and also ask you to report fairly. Be fair in your reporting and the government should be fair in your treatment, because it is that information that members of the public need to know about their government, about their welfare and all other things that happen in this space," he said.

The Guild is hosting its annual convention in Mombasa under the theme "Truth, Trust and Technology: The Place of Journalism in the Digital Era."

Earlier, KEG signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to strengthen collaboration in the fight against corruption through oversight.

A joint team from the two entities will coordinate training, information sharing and research with a view to strengthening integrity in the sector, supporting investigative journalism and enhancing timely cooperation during times of crisis.

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