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Task force for improvement of government communication visits Mombasa

The  David  Makali  led task force for improvement of government information and communication has embarked on public  stakeholders forum.

Task  force  members  visited Mombasa County  where they held meetings with National government departmental heads  on Tuesday at Uhuru na  Kazi building and sought their views on how best the government would communicate with citizens.

Some  of  the departmental heads who spoke at the forum also attended by Mombasa County Commissioner (CC), Evans  Achoki decried  what they termed the fixation with political trivia by the private media instead of development aspects.

They  said  there  is  need for the government to put across its views and allow its officials at the grassroots to put their  voices out without hindrance.

The  Kisauni Deputy County Commissioner (DCC), Kipchumba Ruto said there was need for a public broadcaster different from KBC  which is dedicated mainly on development stories and public affairs programming.

The  Coast Regional Principal Registrar of Persons, Aggrey Masai said the information being provided by government ought to  be credible and timely.

The  Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) Coast  Regional Manager, Boniventure Kioko underscored the need for  platforms to champion communication for development to bring about social economic improvements on the lives of Kenyans.

Earlier, the task force paid a courtesy call on the Coast Regional Commissioner (RC), John  Elung’ata  who said he was excited by the team’s visit to the coast region.

Elung’ata  said  the government should heavily invest in Kenya News Agency (KNA) to effectively carry its mandate of  informing the public.

The  RC said  KNA offers the government the best platform and avenue to articulate and highlight development stories  that  are  often neglected by the private media.

He  said  a  revamped KNA will articulate government programmes and highlight development success stories that often  fail  to  see  the light of day in mainstream media in the country.

Makali  said the task force is expected to make recommendations on how to revamp and strengthen the institutional and  operational foundations of information and public communication functions in government.

He  said  currently  the  task  force  members  are  visiting Mombasa, Nyeri and Kisumu counties to collect views from stakeholders, adding that Kenyans have the right to know what public institutions and ministries were doing and what administrative decisions are being made.

“There is need for the government to communicate with the public in a coherent and cohesive manner” he said.

He said there is need to ensure free flow of information on government policies, programmes and activities especially on the Big Four Agenda on food security, affordable housing, universal healthcare and manufacturing.

By  Hussein  Abdullahi

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