CoG and MCK sign a pact to foster reporting on devolution

The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) on Monday 30, January, 2023 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the council of governors (CoG) that is aimed at fostering professional coverage of devolved units and dissemination of information from counties.

The MoU will seek to enhance the collaborative capacity building of county communications and media staff, improving relations between county governments and journalists and developing training curricula on devolution for the media from model practical perspectives in the County Governments.

Speaking after signing the pact, MCK C.E.O David Omwoyo said that it is essential that Kenyans get access to timely relevant information from the counties and the MOU will be of great help in promoting knowledge management and information sharing from and within the devolved units.

Omwoyo also acknowledged the critical role of journalists in devolved governance and stressed the need for counties to provide access to information and training on capacity building, in order to facilitate objective and unbiased reporting of developments and positives of counties.

“The media plays a crucial role in devolved governance by informing the public about the actions and decisions of elected officials and government bodies at the local level. The media has progressively become a platform for the citizenry to voice their concerns and opinions on governance issues”, he said.

Elgeyo Marakwet governor and CoG ICT and Knowledge Management Committee chair, Wisley Rotich, furthermore pledged to not only operationalize Knowledge centers in counties and provide a good working environment for journalists but also to assist in training County communication officers.

This, he stated, will showcase counties as development centers, attract investments and ensure the visibility of counties.

“We are seeking collaborations with the media to market our counties. We want to showcase counties as centers of investments and development, he said.