In a bid to change the fortunes of the struggling Kenya Broadcasting Corporation KBC, the Principal Secretary Ministry of Information Communication and Technology State Department Broadcasting and Telecommunications Prof.Edward Kisiang’an has directed all state-owned agencies and departments to exclusively advertise on KBC.

“The Government is keen to revive the KBC through a modernization framework that will make it the premier national broadcaster in Africa. This effort requires the national broadcaster to take the lead in the dissemination of information in Kenya.” Stated the PS in a Circular to all Ministries.

According to the Principal Secretary, the directive is in line with the Treasury’s circular issued on July 10, 2015, that communicated the Cabinet’s decision to centralize public sector advertising.

PS Kisiang’ani also noted that the move aims at reducing the amount of money in advert revenue owed to private Media Houses.

“These strategies must also align with the Government policy of reviving ailing public sector entities and ensuring that any public-private partnership is not skewed against public sector institutions

“Going forward, therefore, it has been deemed prudent to initiate measures to ensure that as public sector advertisers seek to access their target audiences through campaigns and other statutory announcements, the Government leverages on the provisions within its realm to revive and fully utilize its institutions.” Said the PS in the Circular forwarded to all Ministries.

Further, Kisinag’ani elaborated that the national broadcaster possesses a broad audience base encompassing Kenyans nationwide, thus deciding to centralise government advertising with the broadcaster as an effective strategy.