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{
"id": 403478,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/403478/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Waiganjo",
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"speaker": {
"id": 2644,
"legal_name": "John Muriithi Waiganjo",
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"content": "Hon. Speaker, Sir, I say that this Bill seems to allow the State to interfere with the media industry. One of the things is that, instead of the Bill giving self-regulating mechanism to media establishments and journalists, it appears to reverse this balance of power. The effect of the reverse is the control of media in favour of the State through the Cabinet Secretary. This is because the Bill gives the Cabinet Secretary power to dissolve the current Media Council, the way it is formulated now. It is empowering him to declare vacancies in the Council and convene an all-important select panel to choose candidates for appointment in the successor Media Council. Hon. Speaker, Sir, of course, there is a council in place and the membership of that council is not going to leave it at once. So, it does not make much sense to say that the Cabinet Secretary should declare that there are any vacancies. More so, the Cabinet Secretary is also empowered, unfortunately, to facilitate that panel. In our parlance or our language in this country, facilitation can mean anything. In fact, the Bill does not even say what kind of facilitation it is talking about. Is it monetary facilitation, coercion, corruption or what? By any means, it does not say what kind of facilitation. Of course, when the Cabinet Secretary is said to facilitate a panel that is supposed to select candidates and send the names to the Cabinet Secretary then, of course, we are removing the independence of that panel before it is even formed. So, this is clearly something that the Committee must think about and must amend. The panel will submit 12 names to the Cabinet Secretary, after interviews and then the Cabinet Secretary is empowered now to select six out of the 12 for appointment. Then the panel selects three to give to the Cabinet Secretary, who then also forwards them to the President to appoint their chairman or chairperson. Hon. Speaker, Sir, the Cabinet Secretary is not obligated to take even the six names that will be given to him or her by the panel that he will facilitate. That means then that the panel may conduct interviews, choose candidates and forward the 12 names to the Cabinet Secretary, but the Cabinet Secretary may take or reject them. He is not under any obligation to even give reasons for rejecting them. So, does that not mean that the membership of the council is subordinate to the Cabinet Secretary? It is subservient to the wishes of the Cabinet Secretary. I think it is important to look critically at the formation of that panel because it will ultimately give us the Media Council. Hon. Speaker, Sir, the other issue I have with this Bill is that the Cabinet Secretary is also mandated or given a leeway to amend the code of conduct for the practice of journalism without public participation. How do we do that? Clearly, we cannot expect--- This power to make rules or ethics for media practitioners is effectively the power to regulate or to control the media, which is clearly contrary to the media which is clearly intended by the provisions of Article 34 of the Constitution. Hon. Speaker, Sir, the code of conduct or ethics of journalism ought not to have any Executive imprint at all in the way that the media should be lead. Therefore, it is my considered view that if this Bill is passed in the form in which it is published, it will have a negative impact on the media landscape for journalists and the country. Of course, we must take cognizance of the fact that Article 34 of the Constitution does not give a blank cheque to the media because Article 33 also gives the media the responsibility that they must have in doing their work. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}