6 | NEWSFOCUS Verbatim October 16, 2018 www.mygov.go.ke I would like to see media work The Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology (MoICT) is a crucial docket buzzing with numerous activities, programmes and initiatives whose impact spans the entire breadth of the Government. The ministry has two State Departments; namely, the State Department of Broadcasting and Telecommunications (BT) and the State Department of Information, Communications, Technology and Innovation (ICT). The outgoing Government Advertising Agency Director, Ngari Gituku had occasion to speak to PS Fatuma Hirsi on various matters concerning the State Department she oversees. Being the PS at the State Department of Broadcasting and Telecommunications (BT) in the Information, Communications and Technology Ministry is much like being back where you truly belong. Tell us about your past exploits in this field. As you have rightly put it, I feel quite at home having previously worked in various institutions that exposed and bequeathed me crucial experience to oversee the sub-sectors under my docket. I began the journey of my career at the Kenya Posts & Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC) where I trained as a Postal Controller and worked in the international and public relations department. Along the way, KPTC was restructured to form Telkom Kenya, Postal Corporation of Kenya (Posta) and the regulator, Communications Commission of Kenya - now Communications Authority (CA). I was one of about 100 members of staff posted to CCK. I served in the corporate affairs department. I was privileged to be part of the team that built the initial CCK brand. In 2000, I joined Kencell Communications Ltd as Public Relations Group Leader, the first mobile telephony company to be licensed in Kenya. Today the company has changed hands several times to finally become Airtel as at now. Later, I got a chance to set up the corporate affairs department at the leading media house in the region - Nation Media Group where I became the Group Corporate Affairs Manager. Six years later, fully Shariah-compliant banking came to Kenya and I was given the opportunity to Head the Marketing, Corporate Affairs and Customer Service department at Gulf African Bank. My role involved helping to demystify Islamic banking. Thereafter, I ventured into the international arena when I was appointed Head of Cabinet, later serving the African continent as the Regional Coordinator for Africa & Least Developed Countries at the Universal Postal Union. The Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations whose mandate is to serve citizens through propagating socio-economic and financial inclusion by riding the crest of the largest logistics network in the world - the Posts. I feel blessed and that destiny has charted the course and encounters in my career path that have—in very specific ways—prepared me to oversee this particular docket which places telecom, posts and media under my mandate. The only new area is film. Which departments are in your docket and what specific mandate is each of them expected to deliver? The mandates that my State Department is expected to deliver as per the latest Executive Order include: a) Telecommunications policy a) Kenya Broadcasting Corporation b) Communications Authority of Kenya c) Postal Corporation of Kenya d) Media Council of Kenya e) Kenya Yearbook Editorial Board f) Kenya Institute of Mass Communications g) Kenya Film Commission h) Kenya Film Classification Board i) National Communications Secretariat There are numerous new initiatives—and seemingly quite exciting—in your State Department such as Studio Mashinani. Tell us about them. The Studio Mashinani project aims at setting up audio music and creative production studios to record quality music and commercials mainly targeted at helping advance the music careers of talented youth who do not have the financial muscle to use commercial studios. This is in line with the Medium Term Plans and the Big Four Agenda aimed at increasing job creation through industrialisation and production of local content. Kenya Broadcasting Corporation is implementing this programme and we hope to create employment opportunities especially for the youth, encourage talent development in music and create new revenue stream for the Corporation through advertising in the Y254 station dedicated to expose these new talents. Other initiatives include new products for the Kenya Yearbook dedicated to different sectors, more so the Big 4. Posta also have various new products and services such as the MPost (your mobile phone number is your postal address), Posta Mobile Wallet, E-njiwa (virtual postbox), Tunza Nyumba na Posta (shop online and delivery), and b) Broadcasting policy c) Coordination of National Government Advertising services d) Public Communications e) Postal and Courier Services f) Policy on Development of Local Content g) Telecommunications, Postal Services and Electronic Commerce h) Government Telecommunications Services To deliver on this mandate, the State Department of BT has four—actually five—technical departments and nine Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies. The four technical departments are: a) Department of Information b) Department of Public Communication c) Department of Film Services d) Department of Telecommunication Services e) and Government Advertising Agency currently piggybacking on the Department of Public Communications) The following are the Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies under the State Department:
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