The Media Council of Kenya is in the process of drafting a Bill that will be able to regulate the changes that are coming up in the media. Consequently, a committee has been selected by the ICT and Digital Economy PS Eng. John Tanui and have been having several meetings so as to come up with a draft on MCK Bill 2024.
This was revealed by Senior Deputy Secretary from State Department of Broadcasting and Telecommunications, Hezron Nyamberi after a three-day meeting at a Machakos hotel, who said that the committee is coming up with regulations that will help handle the new changes in technology and communication.
“Currently we’re working on how to come up with proposals from different multi-stakeholders to ensure that we capture all the issues that are pertained in the bill that is supposed to come up,” he said. Additionally, Nyamberi who is also the Chairman of the committee noted that they plan to subject the Bill proposal to drafters who will come up with the final draft.
He added that after drafting it, the document will be taken to the Public for the purpose of getting their comments and opinions before presenting it to parliament.
Nyamberi revealed that the reason they decided to draft the bill is due to a number of litigations that came up and the court directed the MCK to do a review of the Act and have an inclusive document that will take care of public interest in terms of emerging media changes.
“We need to align ourselves to new technologies which are in print and broadcasting such as Tiktok, Facebook and many others,” said Nyamberi. He highlighted that parliament is expecting the presentation of the final draft by the end of September.
Nyamberi also pointed out that through the new Bill, they will be able to improve the country’s economy and ensure their mandate as MCK is clearly spelt out On his part, the Director of Kenya News Agency Joseph Kipkoech who is a member of the committee added that the Bill is set to transform the media landscape and the Broadcasting Department will be a major beneficiary.
Kipkoech said he looks forward to the completion of the Bill, since it has taken into account emerging social media changes and their impact in society.