Bunge la Mwananchi hits out at government over exclusive adverts allocation
Francis Awino, president of Bunge la Mwananchi, has criticised the government’s directive mandating all government advertisements on television be exclusively channeled through the Kenya Broadcasting Commission (KBC).
Mr Awino linked the decision to suffocating the media.
In an exclusive interview with Nairobi News, Awino condemned the directive, asserting it unfairly grants preferential treatment to one media outlet while stifling competition.
“This directive is akin to stifling the diversity of the media landscape. Media outlets should have the opportunity to compete for advertising revenue, fostering healthy competition and ensuring a vibrant media ecosystem,” Awino emphasized.
While acknowledging that the directive may bolster KBC’s financial standing, Awino expressed concern over the detrimental impact it would have on other media stations, which rely on government advertising revenue to sustain their operations.
“While this move may benefit KBC, it raises serious questions about the livelihoods of journalists and the sustainability of other media outlets. The government needs to reconsider this decision to safeguard media plurality and ensure the viability of the entire media industry,” Awino urged.
His sentiment came just a few days after the government also directed that all advertisements in the print media be directed to the Star newspaper, a move that has drawn sharp reactions from the Nation Media Group, Standard Group and other stakeholders.
Nairobi News earlier reported the Law Society of Kenya, the Kenya Editors Guild, and the Kenya Union of Journalists had sued the government for contracting the Star newspaper as its sole newspaper advertiser considering it prints and distributes the government’s MyGov pullout and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation for tv and radio adverts, hence monopolizing information which “infringes on Kenyan’s rights to access to critical information.”
The groups accused Broadcasting Principal Secretary Edward Kisinangani of flouting Kenya’s free market policy.
The petitioners say Kisiangani’s moves amounted to controlling the media houses that get adverts to toe Kenya Kwanza government’s line.
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