President William Ruto Saturday directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to advertise on digital platforms to grow the digital economy.
He said this will create jobs and increase income for creatives.
He explained that the more advertisements done online, the higher Kenya’s content makes a mark and the more local creatives earn.
“We have no excuse not to advertise online,” he said.
He made the remarks during the 97th Kenya Music Festival State Concert held at Sagana State Lodge, Nyeri County, in the company of Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba, among others.
He disclosed that Kenya is among a select few countries whose content creators are paid for their original work on Facebook due to the government’s efforts on social media monetisation.
“We fought hard and we won. And we are not stopping,” he said.
To further boost the sector, the President said the government is pushing for the integration of M-PESA into Facebook’s payment system to make payouts to content creators faster, easier and more accessible.
“When I travel to the United States for the UN General Assembly next month, I will engage and urge Google to enable Kenyans to buy adverts via M-PESA to benefit both creatives and MSMEs selling their products online, creating a win-win situation for Kenya and for YouTube, which will enjoy more transactions on its platform,” he said.
Among those who performed at the Winners State Concert were Senende Boys High School (Vihiga), Soin Crest ECD (Kericho), Alliance High School (Kiambu), Thika School for V.I. Junior School (Kiambu), Kiranda Girls Primary (Migori), and Kenyatta University (Nairobi).
Ruto was particularly impressed by the performance of John Momanyi, the violinist from Nkoroi Secondary School (Kajiado), in his solo presentation.
He said he will push for the fast-tracking of the establishment of world-class studios in Kenya and to set in motion the journey towards hosting an African edition of the Grammys in Nairobi.
He said the Grammy team has already expressed interest in anchoring their presence at the new Talanta Stadium that is under construction.
“To this end, I direct the Ministry of Youth and Creative Economy to expedite all outstanding steps to deliver a truly state-of-the-art creative experience for our artistes, producers and innovators right here at home,” he said.
Ruto said the government has made the arts a career pathway by embedding music, drama and visual arts in the Competency-Based Education framework from early years to senior school.
He pointed out that KSh950 million has been allocated this year, through the Teachers Service Commission and the Ministry of Education, to train teachers to identify and nurture talent from a young age.
To address musicians’ complaints, he noted that the Kenya Copyright Board is enforcing the rule that 70 per cent of royalties must go directly to artistes, warning that non-compliance will lead to loss of licence.
He further directed the Kenya Copyright Board to roll out a digital royalties’ system on the e-Citizen platform without delay even if it requires legislative change.
“The time to act is now, and this matter must be concluded this year,” he said.
Ruto said the Blank Tape Levy has already collected over Sh100 million to support the creative industry, with at least 70 per cent of the proceeds going directly to artistes.
Ruto announced that the government is rehabilitating cultural centres, including the Kenya National Theatre, Bomas of Kenya and regional hubs, to make available affordable venues for performance and training.
“We are exploring proposals to build additional cultural centres using funds from the Housing Levy. Counties are encouraged to establish creative industry hubs to decentralise talent development,” he said.
The President said the government has kept its promise to launch an online platform on e-Citizen for school drama and music festival performances.
He noted that in the past, artistes had to travel to Nairobi and pay KSh1,000 for a DVD of their own work. Now, students, parents and fans can download performances online for less than KSh250.
“This is a bold leap forward, replacing outdated DVDs with instant digital access and marking the first step towards building Kenya’s own ‘Netflix’ for local productions,” he said.
He challenged network providers to review their revenue splits and give a fairer share to artistes whose talent drives their success.
Urging Parliament to fast-track the Creative Economy Support Bill and the Culture Bill, he explained that the laws will unlock grants through the Creatives Fund, provide credit guarantees, attract major film productions and strengthen protection of intellectual property.
Prof Kindiki said the creative arts play a key role in promoting positive values in the community.
“Music helps us fight negative things that we want to discourage from our society: Corruption, laziness, violence and crime,” he said.
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