This archive report was first published on 8 June 2020.
On June 5, 2020, the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) made a crucial decision to waive the quarterly media subscription fees for media enterprises until October 2020.
According to MCK CEO David Omwoyo, the decision was reached during a Special Council Meeting where the governing body reviewed the regulator's COVID-19 mitigation measures for the media sector and approved the waiver affecting the last quarter of the financial year 2019/20 (April – June 2020) and the first quarter of the financial year 2020/21 (July – September 2020).
The waiver of the subscription fees amounts to Ksh 10 million in value for the said period and is intended to help lighten the financial burden on media houses.
The MCK has implemented a raft of measures to cushion the sector, including the provision of health reporting grants to journalists, direct support to media associations and support groups, and the provision of the historic Ksh 100 million grants to community media.
Omwoyo added, 'We continue to monitor this evolving situation with a view to providing assistance where possible and engendering a conducive operating environment for media enterprises across the country.'
