Eliud Owalo, ICT Cabinet Secretary nominee, disclosed a series of strategies to make Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) the leading television station in the country.
Appearing before the vetting committee on Friday, October 21, Owalo stated that President Wiliam Ruto's government had laid out plans to revitalise KBC operations by rebranding the TV station to meet the current market standards.
He opined that its initial name, Voice of Kenya (VOK), was essential to giving it a national outlook.
The former Raila Odinga strategist added that the government was keen on leveraging ICT to re-engineer KBC TV content to match the current standards and viewers' demands.
"With respect to KBC, I fully and exclusively agree that something needs to be done to KBC.
"It is ironical that KBC, with its wide network of infrastructure, is today punching below its weight in the marketplace," Owalo expressed concerns.
The ICT CS nominee further revealed plans to rejuvenate KBC by investing in new infrastructure benchmarked from the best media houses in the world.
"I promise without fear of contradiction that the issue of KBC will not be one of the thematic areas of key of intervention, but I would also want to be held accountable by virtue of having a very clear performance indicator as far as turning KBC is concerned," Owalo vowed.
Other than infrastructure, Owalo expressed confidence that under his reign, KBC will recruit top talent and award them competitive salaries and allowances.
To attract top talent, Owalo, who is worth Ksh645 million, added that the government had set up plans to review the remuneration architecture while at the same time considering job evaluation exercises.
He maintained that KBC would regain its mojo and also compete in the global media space.
In June 2021, the TV station rebranded, bringing on board some veteran presenters, such as Catherine Kasavuli, the late Badi Muhsin and Fred Indimuli, among others.
