Name PANG Owners, Senate Orders CS, CAK

Information Cabinet Secretary Matiangi’ together with the Communication Authority of Kenya Director Francis Wangusi have been given seven days to produce documents regarding to ownership of PANG.

This comes after claims that the Chinese firm had local shareholdings of up to 30%.

The Senate committee wants Mr. Matiangí and Mr. Wangusi to clarify the issue in order to create a level playing ground for all investors in the media sector.

“Who are the local shareholders? What are their stakes and when were they incorporated in it?” question Hon. Fatuma Dulo, a member of the Senate Committee.

“These are people who have been given this huge sum of investment and we need to look at the security of the country, the economy has already been affected,” she added.

 

MORE TIME

The members further sought to understand why the government would not budge on its position regarding the date of migration to allow Citizen TV, NTV, QTV and KTN time to lay their digital broadcasting infrastructure.

“What will be so fatal to give one more month? These people are brands let us give them one more month,” said Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen.

Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar said that by Kenya being a free market economy, there is a need for profits to be based on “equity on those who toiled to benefit for what they have toiled for.”

He questioned on why the country cannot migrate on June 17th, 2015 which is the global deadline for switching off the analogue signal as set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

 

EXTRA COSTS

Responding to the queries, Mr. Matiangí said that they are ready to work with the three media houses but there is no going back to analogue broadcasting.

CAK director admitted that the three media houses would have to meet extra costs should they opt to have their content carried by either PANG or Signet.

The media houses under the Africa Digital Network consortium maintain that they are not against digital migration and are only asking for time before the worldwide deadline to import and lay infrastructure required for digital broadcasting.

By Esther Kahumbi and Koome Kimonye

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