December 16^th 2019                         

By Cheruiyot Korir

A Taskforce on the Improvement of government Information and Communication services have proposed far-reaching recommendations on the sector to win trust and confidence of the citizens that were declining.

A report presented to the Cabinet Secretary for ICT, Mr Joe Mucheru, by the  Chairman of the Taskforce, Mr David Makali, recommends the restructuring of the communication platforms such as rebuilding and revamping of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation and provision of adequate state funding to revitalise operations.

The taskforce also recommended the strengthening of MyGov, a weekly government publication to be a standalone to be circulated up to village level. The paper will carry government advertisements and information on opportunities in the public sector.

Mr Makali said, that one of the greatest challenges faced by the government is mistrust from the citizens attributed to failed policies, inconsistent and contradicting information and rigid mind-set and culture of some public officials whose attitudes do not conform to the changing needs of the public.

While receiving the report today, the Mr Mucheru said, the government will study the report and apply the recommendations appropriately.

Mr Mucheru said it is important for the government to have an effective communication strategy to win the trust of citizens.

The Taskforce report identifies lack of coherent policy on communication, poor funding and low ranked personnel with low moral as some of the challenges that hinder effective delivery of government information and public communication services.

The 19-member taskforce was drawn from public relations and media practitioners in the public and the private sectors and have taken one year collating and collecting views from stakeholders.