A former Citizen TV presenter who was appointed to chair a governmental taskforce has adviced the President Uhuru Kenyatta-led government on how to regain public trust.
In the findings dubbed 'Winning Public Trust’ released on Monday, December 16, the 19-member team which was led by former TV personality David Makali urged the state to print a free newspaper as part of efforts to regain public trust.
According to a report by People Daily, the taskforce, which was mandated to study the status of the government's communication function, argued that the paper would reach far and wide and would directly disseminate unfiltered information.
“One of the recommendations is to revamp and rebrand MyGov to be a free standalone newspaper to be distributed across the country to reach all people at the grassroots,” he stated.
The team further proposed the creation of a Government Communication and Information Service headed by the government spokesperson.
Another recommendation was the revamping of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) by ensuring the national broadcaster was properly funded.
This, they explained, would go a long way in raising the government's profile from what they described as a poisoned and out-of-touch communication system.
ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru cast doubts on the proposals arguing that the plan would face fightbacks from already established media houses.
“Though I have not read the report, the chairman has said we set up our own newspaper and distribute it for free. It would be interesting to hear what media react to that,” posed Mucheru.
Makali, who has worked with nearly all media houses in Kenya, was a journalist at Citizen TV presenting in the Power Breakfast show as well appearing as being a resident panelist alongside veteran journalist, Mutegi Njau on Cheche, hosted by Uduak Amimo.
He also worked as the head of content at The Star newspaper. Makali also served as the secretary-general to the Ababu Namwaba-led Labour Party of Kenya.
