Kenya to boost local television content

20th March 2015 The Director General of the Communications Authority of Kenya Mr. Francis Wangusi, has said that the country’s government has issued a directive to Television broadcasters to increase the transmission ratio of local content on local TV stations from forty to sixty percent.

He shared this information at a gathering where the amendment of the Kenya Information and Communications Act was put forward for public consultations with stakeholders in the sector. The decision is part of a five-year strategic plan targeted at increasing the contribution of the ICT sector to the country’s GDP by 100 per cent.

The regulations are to make sure that a given amount of local raw materials, suppliers and human resources are part of the production activities of foreign firms doing business in a country, and as a preventive measure against exploitation.  The country now joins countries like Nigeria who have set the pace with the National Oil and Gas Industry Content act in 2010.

Kenya’s Communications Authority says getting sixty percent of local content on local stations is achievable with the new TV stations coming on board after the Digital Migration, where content must have at least 30 percent of its productions owned by Kenyans to be considered local.

Wangusi is quoted as saying that “As a country which is ahead of the curve across the region, we should be in a position to produce local content that is not only consumable locally but can also be exported in other markets,”