- Kenya Broadcasting Corporation founded in 1928 is sinking fast into a financial crisis, a Senate committee was told Tuesday.
- The committee was further treated to more shocking news after the state broadcaster disclosed that it only had 37 correspondents around the country.
Kenya’s national broadcaster risks going off-air due to mounting level of debts running into billions of shillings
The committee was further treated to more shocking news after KBC disclosed that it only had 37 correspondents around the country.
Kenya’s national broadcaster risks going off-air due to mounting level of debts running into billions of shillings.
Kenya Broadcasting Corporation founded in 1928 is sinking fast into a financial crisis, a Senate committee was told Tuesday.
Senate Committee on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) chaired by Baringo Senator Gideon Moi heard that the once flourishing media house was unable to remit statutory charges to relevant authorities due to a loss of close to Sh7 billion.
Officials from the state broadcaster told the Senate Committee that it was unable to remit Sh205 million to the Kenya Revenue Authority despite deducting the money from the employees.
Samwel Otieno, who represented the KBC managing director, told the Committee that the corporation was spending up to Sh180 million every month on recurrent expenditure against Sh90 million that it was generating.
An uncleared loan from Japan borrowed in 1989 is also weighing down the corporation.
The loan from the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) has since grown to over Sh40 billion.
The committee, also heard that KBC had not paid Sh127 million for satellite operations.
What is even more mindboggling is the fact that the despite the corporation deducting employees’ wages it had not been remitting the same to respective savings and credit cooperative organisations (saccos).
“It is wrong, even in the eyes of God, to deprive labourers of their wages. We are disappointed,” said Gideon.
The committee was further treated to more shocking news after the state broadcaster disclosed that it only had 37 correspondents around the country.
“You are treating your people badly, you need to convince us that KBC is worth having,” said Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang.
The future of KBC remains uncertain.
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