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Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Annual Report 1969

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Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Annual Report 1969 c REPUBLIC OF KENYA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING ANNUAL REPORT 1969 Tbree Shillings - 1971 1 3 MARS 1973 l MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING ANNUAL REPORT 1969 MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING ANNUAL REPORT 1969 GENERAL · The remarkable successes which have been recorded in various sections of the Ministry of. Information and Broadcasting during 1969 cannot justifiably be attributed wholly to one deliberate planning. Rather the successes could rightly be a result of spontaneous responses by various services to the demand made by situations arising from the results of calculated and sometimes out of the ordinary eve~ts occurr.ing in the country in conjonction with the progress of the develop­ ment plan which ît was the duty of the Minîstry to publicize and promo te. Consequent to this phenomenon, the services of the Ministry bad to be deployed in a manner rthat would bring realization of the progress. to ail citizens ali over the country, and allay unjustified criticism of sorne of the services. In the course of providing these services, the Ministry creditably acquitted itself during the year despite the many impediments encountered in the process, in the form of shottage of staff, inadequate staff of the right calibre, shortage of finance and a host of mechanical breakdowns, poor reception as weil as frequent over-·extension of the depleted staff in an endeavour to respond to numerous sudden events which· took place in 1969. This did not however, take the spirit out of the Ministry's personnel. Despite peak period pressure in 1969 during elections and prior to Christmas, the Minis­ try handled the situation calmly and efficiently and fulfilled its function of ensuring ,that Wandnchi were kept informed of Government policies, plans, achievements, actions and the happenings not only around them but also outsîde Kenya. As is rightly stated elsewhere in the report, perhaps the unique feature the services· bad to take accoun't of during the year is the hùge corps of foreign and local visitors who visited varions parts of the country. in one capacity or ·the other a•s weil as far-reaching political evolution the country bas experienced since .independence, coupled with the tremendous transformation which was taking place in the country during the year. This is, of course; to say nothing· of· the many. varied activities undertaken by the President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta ahd, Ministers ali over the country visiting people, initia ting projects or inspecting existing ones. Corps of foreign journalists visited Kenya during the year and carrîed home information about Kenya for the publicity of Kenya in their réspective countries of origin. The all-embracing successes achieved with the Iimited resources were the laying of t:he foundation stone by the President at Mazeras for the Coast Television Trans­ riiissiOti :station. Three more libraries were added to the three existing on~. The Mini~try's Reference l.Jibrary moved into better accomrnoqaticm .at Information House. Outside vedeo recordings were increased and Kènya · Institute ·of Mass Communi"ation was opened. Under the radio programme a fool-proof technique was evolved to obviate loss of revenue resulting from commercial "slips" while on ·the externat pro­ grammes, VOK · was able to supplement late programmes with acceptable "rèpeats" froin local sources. It is of significance perhaps to note that the crest of performance of S<)me of the Mini.stry's services was obviously reached during the election period and for the VOK, during the B.A. Safari Rally, when the services were pulled to the breaking point. The result, as the report will show, was a job weil done. Another remarkable service wa.s the enormous amount of publications produced by the Publications Section during the year, explaining to the W ananchi what they wished to know about particular Government actions or policy, as weil as entertaining them, despite the fact that the demand was greater than could be catered for. While most departments continued to report glowing successes in the field, sorne underlined particular difficulties faced during ,the year which it !llppears will need sober re-asse.ssment in the immediate future. To underline the major ones, North-Eastern Province for example points out a decision made on its new transmission adversely affected the efficiency of its new transmission. At the same time Photographie Section mentions a colour laboratory promised but which never materialized, while Chief Librarian refers to a bouse which rwould have been taken over by the Ministry of Works for library at Garissa but bad to be dropped due to lack of funds. The Film Unit moreover in its aim to improve its service oails for additional equipment, while the VOK Television caUs for a centralization in the TV services. The spectrum of the services of the Ministry indicate that the major services were discharged through the following broad beads, Information Department at Headquarters and in the provinces, Kenya News Agency, Press Office, Library Service, Presidential Press Unit, Film Unit, Voice of Kenya under which come Schools Broadcasting Division, Engineering Division, Radio Programmes and Television Services. The follorwing summary then gives a review of the activiities of the Ministry during the year on departmental basis higblighting the salient successes recorded during the year despite overall visible difficulties confronted by the Ministry in va.rious fields. Coast Province Coast Province continued to attract up-country holiday-goers, visitors and touri.sts. H.E. the President also took his working holidays in the province. It is during this time that the President formally laid the foundation stone to the Coast Transmit'ting Station at IMazerns. Another important visi'tor to the province was the President of Zambia, Dr. Kooncth Kaunda, who v~isited 'Mombasa to com­ mission M.V. Mlungushi at Kilindini Harbour. The occasion was also witnessed by President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Mrs. Maria Nyerere and Marna Ngina Kenyatta. The Nigerian Head of State, Major-General Yakub Gowon, also paid a courtesy cali on Mzee Kenya·tta at Mombasa. Though information work was hampered by a serious shortage of staff, a total of 1,183 news items were transmitted to the Kenya News Agency in Nairobi, most of which were used on radio and by daily newspapers. The year was a faidy busy one for officers ~n the pmvince. Liaison wîth other Ministries, the public and other parastatal and private organizations was main­ tained. Visits to ali districts and divisional headquarters were made regularly. During :the year, over 5,000 copies of the President's portrait, 27,500 of Serikali Y etu, 20,000 copies of Kenya Y etu and severa! thousand copies of the Cabinet posters were distributed. In preparation for the Generai Election, 28,000 copies of Jifunze Uraia and 28,000 oopies of Guide to the General Election were also distributed in the province. 2 At the beginning of the year, the Nyali transmitting station which relays national service from Nairobi started working, but the reception was poor. Three hundred and one cases of radio defaulters were lodged in court com­ pared with 133 in the previous year. Fines imposed ranged from Sh. 30 to Sh. 300. Cinema shows were staged in the province, while photographs portraying development projects and social activities were taken. North-Eastern Province The year ushered in a new era in the province. Peace was at last restored to the province. This facilitated social, economie, and political developments. Despite this, the Ministry rwas unable rto expand oorrespondingly its services ~n the province. The Government pro'Vided suooour to the victims of the drought that swept the province. Drought relief was sent to the people ·Wbile sorne families were moved to safer places. · ' Experts such as hydrologists, water engineers, range specialists, sociologists and others were sent to .the province to advise on development plans aimed at improving the standards of living of the people of N.E. Province. During the year the General Election brought surprises in that only two of the old members of Parliament were returned, one of whom was the former Assist­ ant Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Mr. S. Amin. The Ministry's Film Production Unit visited the province and sho.t scenes for the Kenya 1969 film. A substantial number of news items were filed with 'the Kenya News Agency which distributed them to the Voice of Kenya and the· daily papers. Trans­ mission of news items to Nairobi suffered a blow as a· result of Headquarters' decision to mail news to Nairobi. The method was slow and antiquated for the transmission of fresh news. After the signing of "Arusha Accord" (friendly reLations between Kenya and Somalia), a number of foreign joumalists, television cameramen and photo­ graphers visited the province to report on the province as well as the effort the Kenya Government had put in uplifting the life of the Somali people •in Kenya. On broadcasting, the National and General Services broadcasts were however, slightly better in Garissa than in Mandera and Wajir Districts. The Voice of Kenya broadcast programmes pre-recorded in Somali for the Somali listeners. During the year the Provincial Office received and distributed 10,000 pub­ lications on various subjects, including ·the National Anthem, Kenya Y etu and Serikali Yetu. Judging from the recorded demand, more of such publications will be needed in future. Cinema shows were performed in the province. Wherever the crew went, large attendances were in evidence. Films on agricultural, educational and social development in other parts of the country were the most popular. Films on self­ help projects also drew keen interest among those attending the shows. Eastern Province During the year, this office played a major role in projecting the image of the Government, its policies and achievements in improving the standards of living of the people.
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