Robert
Yes KBC has a HR department. It is one of the nine departments of the Corporation with others being finance and administration,
ICT, units for audits and procurement, radio services, television services, news and editorial, technical, and sales. It also has a strategic plan (2007-2012).
I was involved in a study on 'Public Broadcasting in Africa series', and I was the Kenyan Researcher. This is a project that was supported by the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP) the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA). The study was launched by PS Ndemo in October last year. Please see chapter 6 on KBC as a Corporation (from pg 69), and chapter 7 on how it is funded. KBC has had funding
challenges. PS Ndemo has been instrumental in pushing for reinstatement of funding for KBC from exchequer (just giving credit where due), and by institutionalizing this funding as stipulated in the The Broadcasting Regulations 2009 in section 11(2).
Some concerns raised:
1. KBC has substantial debts. Some going way back to 1989. As of May 2009, a massive Kes. 8.2 billion was owed to the government
of Japan for the installation of medium wave (MW) transmission stations. This project was part of an agreement concluded between the two governments in 1989. MW is an obsolete technology and changing from MW to FM meant additional costs for KBC. Before the launch, it was reported that the government had agreed to negotiate with its Japanese counterpart on how to deal with the debt with a view to having it written of.
2. The KBC board needs to be knowledgeable, comprising people with an education and with skills in areas indicated in the KBC Act section 4(1). This
requirement to have board members with specialized skills has not always been followed. In the course of the research, I was informed that KBC has even at some point had board members who had no inkling of specific tasks of the broadcaster. Many are the times when the board has had members who are retired civil servants and politicians who did not make it to Parliament as a way of being rewarded.
3. KBC has a staff contingent of 890 members excluding artistes, marketing freelancers and part-timers. Between 2005 and 2008, the Corporation reduced its workforce drastically from 1 300. Artistes are like correspondents who have a retainer (not a salary). This is a bloated workforce.
4. The salaries of KBC staff – the middle and lower levels in particular – are low and out of kilter with those in the wider broadcasting industry. The low salaries have resulted in a high staff turnover as other stations offer better pay packages: This happens especially after staff have undergone training which KBC provides in conjunction with international organisations such as the BBC and Deutsche Welle (DW). Infact there are unconfirmed reports that the entire KBC Maasai service has been poached by a competitor. Staff also complained on the way promotions have been effected suggesting favoritism.
The study makes several recommendations for example the need for a new KBC Act that guarantee editorial independence for the KBC, and has a design for a modern organisational structure. Further, after the enactment of new legislation for the KBC and the establishment of a new board, the government should take over all debts on the Corporation’s books to enable KBC make a new start with a clean slate.
Rgds
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