Public Relations practitioners in Kenya want the Ministry of Information, Communication and The Digital Economy to fast track plans on the formulation of a bill that will protect and serve the needs of the profession.
According to the Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK) President Arik Karani, as an industry the lack of a legal framework to govern the operations of the professionals in this field has been the biggest challenge in their work.
Karani said there is no bill that is anchored to make the profession recognized in the East Africa region. “In Kenya we have made quite a lot of strides in terms of ensuring that we have a bill that is ready,” he said.
At the same time, Karani asked the government to cushion the communication department whenever there are budget cuts claiming it is always the first department that is affected.
The national PR President said they are going to have discussion with the CEOs even during the five-day forum informing them that they cannot be doing budget cuts to the department yet communication was a management function
He further stated that the role of public relation department is to create a good image for the target organization and thus the need to secure the budget so that the organization can be made to look better to the public.
Karani noted that communication was important, giving an example of the Covid-19 era where the globe was able to withstand the threat because there was effective communication in terms of what to do to prevent oneself from getting infected.
“We do understand that budget cuts need to be there as it is an important way of being able to grow as a country but we are appealing to the government not to reduce the budget drastically when it comes to communication as the public needs to stay informed,” he added.
He said whenever budget cuts are done, the department of communication is affected as an organization which in turns becomes a problem to communicate government development programmes to the public.
The professionals have made strides by conducting the first East Africa Public Relations week where seven countries from the region have converged in Mombasa for a five-day forum.
Karani cited the need for the professionals from the region to come together for communication and regional integration in order to have a maximum impact.
The Ministry of Information, Communications and The Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo said the Ministry has put an agenda for the formulation of the bill that will anchor the profession.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Information Secretary Judy Munyinyi, CS Owalo urged the communication professionals to take up opportunities and support the government agenda through their work.
Uganda PR president Steven Mwanga said that as spokespersons there is need for the professionals to gather strength through meetings on how they can fix whatever is happening in the region.
“Everything happening in the region affects our profession and that’s why we should come together and tackle what is happening as one force,” said Mwanga.
More than 500 PR practitioners across the East African region are in attendance. The theme of the forum is: “Thinking toward tomorrow.”
