By Khalifa Hemed
Published May 18, 2020
Kenya has made a U-turn on Sh100 Million (US$1 Million) President Uhuru Kenyatta had on April 6, 2020 said was being released as a safety net for artists, actors and musicians against the disruptive effects of Coronavirus.
“I direct the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage to avail Sh100 million from the Sports Fund to our artists, actors and musicians during the period of the covid-19 pandemic so they may continue to entertain their fellow brothers and sisters through TV, radio and the internet,” Kenyatta had said.
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On May 11, following complaints and questions as to why the money the President had said would be disbursed during the week he made the announcement, the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage that had been directed to release the money to the artists held a media briefing and launched a programme it called Work For Pay Sh100 Million Stimulus Package for Artists, Actors and Musicians, saying the Government had no ‘reservoir of free funds’ to dish out.
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Amina Mohamed, the Sports, Culture and Heritage Minister, said the Work For Pay stimulus package was in line with the Executive Order issued by President
Kenyatta, directing the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund to avail Sh100 million to cushion those in the creative industry during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saying the funds would be distributed through a campaign dubbed Together at Home that would be spearheaded by the Government, Mohamed said artists from various creative disciplines would “be required to produce works that entertain and educate Kenyans and the world on the safety and health precautions to stop the spread of COVID-19.”
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These artistic productions, Dr Mohamed said, would be “carried through various assets set up by the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage such as ‘KULTURE TV’ and other collaborative media outlets”; that “The objective is to continue developing and nurturing talent to ensure that the sector remains a significant contributor to our economy post-COVID”; and that the Together at Home campaign would “use entertainment to centralise three crucial aspects of our society: the importance of new avenues for work, creative community education and sustained mental well-being for all
Kenyans.”
But artists, particularly musicians, have accused Mohamed of misinterpreting Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive that had no conditions and thus she is shortchanging them.
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Through Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP), Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) and Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK), the musians have distanced themselves from the Work For Pay Sh100 million stimulus package for artists, actors and musicians.
The collective management organisations (CMOs), in rejecting the programme, said they had neither been informed of the progress nor consulted in the formulation of the Work for Pay programme though they “are integral and have a fundamental role in facilitating the President’s program herein. This is to us an omission that is likely to result in a myriad of loopholes and subsequent challenges both of which are likely to hinder the full success of the program that could deny our deserved members their deserved benefits. CMOs are the best placed institutions through which this well intended stimulus project aimed at assisting Kenyan artists should be implemented.”
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KAMP, MCSK and PRISK appealed to the Minister for Sports, Culture and Heritage to include them among implementers of ‘the President’s well intended gesture’ to the creative sector.
Amina Mohamed, during the launch of the Work For Pay Sh100 Million Stimulus Package for Artists, Actors and Msicians at Kenya Cultural Centre in Nairobi said
the programme was “a provision to educate,innovate, sustain and improve our output as a sector” and “not a reservoir of free funds.”
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“Taking into account that the number of artistes in the country is estimated to be way above 100,000, giving cash handouts would have been ineffective in cushioning households as well as broadening the societal Covid-19 safety education,” Mohamed said.
The launch of the programme was followed by several 60-minute webinars to sensitise the public on the programme May 11 – 17, 2020.
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Among those targeted for participation in the three-month Work for Pay programme are visual artists and comedians (under Department of Culture ), musicians and dancers (under Permanent Presidential Music Commission), mural artists (under National Museums of Kenya), thespians (under Kenya Cultural Centre), and moviemakers (under Kenya Film Commission).
Detailed information on the application process is available on the website of the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage ministry,
