Collaborate on Gold Bill Format for Public Relations with Ease Using airSlate SignNow

Gold bill format for Public Relations

that is going to guide and lead on who is saying what who is the face of what and how is it say because if you don't say that then we are just going to go and wear new clothes but we haven't really taken a bath we are just covering up so we need to do a very very um deliberate constructive surgery and say the custodians of information the custodians of communication who are they are they valid what governs them how are they saying this and I'm sure by then the government will also be very um interested in engaging professionals those who are Guided by a certain code of conduct those who know what they're doing those who have been subjected to the Litas test and those who understand the science and the art behind Communications and public relations because indeed depending on how you look at it communication uh uh and Public Relation is is a science and is an art as well so looking at my my last submission on the importance of this would be we also have uh the Constitution also uh six says that we need to have public participation public participation we are seeing more and more of it uh a process that is undertaken by institutions and and other government bodies but uh honorable chair there is no proper framework to public participation and when you look at public participation and how it is done um information and communication takes plays a very vital role in the public education and advocacy of of public participation and therefore looking at this having a communication strategy around how public participation is taken back how taken taken up and the framework of it how is it done how is it funded is there a process that says you know do we have monitoring and valuation or public participation that is taken up by by by any institution that is lacking so what we are doing so far we did how it went about how it is funded the continuity of it and how it is actually uh the administration the whole administration of it is also not very clear so also the the the public um the public relations and Communications bill as well um as it as you Legalize It and it becomes law these are certain tenets that we would also look at and give help and and also assist the government in coming up with proper structures and proper strategies so that uh communication as a whole is wholesome has an end to end and has a theory behind it so um the short of the long uh honorable chair is that it is very pertinent and important um especially to the face of the government and also to us as practitioners and also just to have a feel of of safety and comfort that you belong to a house you belong to a membership that has order Even in our own homes we do not just leave but there are certain house rules of how things are carried out so that would be our one wish and we have walked that path for the last very many years and since uh establishment 53 years ago honorable chair I think it is time for us to put our house in order and say once you are part of this house this is what is expected of you and this are the outcomes and the value additions and just lastly is to say that once this goes through this will provide and give an opportunity for for to create jobs to uh very many students in the the universities who undertake courses in PR and Communications and do not know where to go why because the spaces are filled with people who proport to um have that skill but really looking at the training it is lacking so it is a win-win situation for the membership and also for the citizenry and the government as home thank you chair one proud practitioner um you can see how the practitioners in the pr space are eloquent in their presentation and very succinct and I'm now even more reminded that I need to renew my membership with the prsk and and also with the msk before I say anything um are there any other presentations from your end that should be it no that should be and then we now I think with that overview and synopsis of what we are where we have the journey we have walked I think it would only be fair to give you the opportunity to now engage and then we can now give our responses awesome wonderful so I'll allow for two introductions before I open the plenary um I'll allow The Honorable member who has just walked in to make an introduction uh we shall start right at the top of the table with a member for K South honorable member kindly introduce yourself thank you chair my name is Kon Kimo Member of Parliament k constituency and a member of this committee welcome sh um semiblind member of par at this moment in time forumu East member of this committee sorry I've been running around finding out where you were actually meeting thank you welcome member uh we are speaking life to that eye it is not blind honorable member kindly introduce yourself uh my name is jamaa seron a member of parliament baringo County and the member of this committee I want you to engage them on their presentation you remember we have unpacked this bill CLA by CLA there were concerns that were raised right from the beginning and I would want to give the PO position to The Honorable member for Boni followed by The Honorable specially elected member abat and then from there we shall I shall I shall direct mimasu and thank you for the good presentation my name once more is K zoka member of Parliament Bon and member of this committee I have two or three questions one is uh you are talking of uh you started in 1971 and you have been you have been in existence for 54 good years as a society I guess registered under the societies act and now you are looking at moving from the society to an in Institute of prer and communication management which is good I'm just wondering when uh you talk about you want to put the practitioners together and if I look at that bill on the practitioner and the practicing certificate that needs to be bought by the practitioner where are you going to get that practicing certificate are you going to issue it or are they going to come with it we need to be clear on that you have 513 members those members do they have the practicing certificate or they're just general members or you are going to start a fresh when now you have the Institute already started thank you The Honorable abat thank you chair my name is representing marginalized Community okay I would like to ask one question we have many professional bodies in this country and literally all of them have legal framework they have clear operational guidelines and code of conduct for their members however these members or professionals that subscribe to these professional bodies engaged always in an act of commission or Omission that are detrimental to to to this Society in general by engaging I mean in this act with with utmost impunity they are members of professional bodies they act they act ction or omissions always most most of the times are detrimental to our society an example is what happened recently during demonstrations by the media houses I don't want to go into details how are you going to deal with this issue within your members I don't know whether my question is clear very clear thank you very much we shall give this first batch of questions so you can take these ones and maybe answer them one by one or you can ask answer them thematically if you find that there are any questions that that uh probably coming into one bucket and can be answered thematically so for this first batch I'd like to ask what do you say to that Kenyan who will say that here is Parliament creating yet another body that they have had so many bodies being created and maybe this is a body that is being created to rent sick for example the the way people just get together they might say that these are just uh a number of uh communicators who have gotten together created yet another body where they will be collecting membership fees and collecting uh charges thank you so how what do you say to such a member thank you you have just taken advantage the second question is public relations in its in its proper form should be a very respected um component in the communication space But as we speak today if any Kenyan tells you PR they are not saying it very respectfully in fact the profession of PR is now looked at not in very good light it looks like you're putting up an image that is or you you you are a rent Seeker or a or a conman um by bringing together a professional body how will we be working towards tidying up the space that is called PR so that whenever you try to communicate or you try to engage with stakeholders or other different publics you're not told PR and it is seen not in very good light and many other things that stem out of that um Jesse Masai and I were in a classroom where we were being taught that even propaganda itself is a word derived from propagation and in fact came from the word uh from from the time when the gospel was being propagated so that uh propaganda was the propagation of gospel but today when you say y propaganda it is not taken well so does does uh does this help by us coming into a body and and you have told us that you want to bring it bring regulations and standard put a code of stand and all these justifications you have made will they start working us towards uh uh a better place for PR and all that is related to relating with with the public mimasu has asked it differently but I'll will also ask prsk has existed for now close to 54 years what will happen differently now that we transition you from a society into the ER organization and the setup that you asking us to do in this bill what are you going to do differently that you have not been able to do in the last 54 years finally these members are the members who build the budget they create the budget they also are the members who appropriate they the members who also Institute measures on how to raise um the taxes so that we can finance that budget you might want to be very clear to these members what the impact of the formation of this body has on the Kenya budget what uh what would it mean to the budget are you wanting to get some monies or fundings from the ex cheer are you asking to appropriate some monies to you and that was in the Gen in general terms now specifically to the bill I would want to take you to Cloud 21 of your proposed Bill and CLA 21 is talking about members categories and it lays out how this happens and I'd like to take you to section three of these which is C and the and the Clause is saying that the membership of the institution of The Institute shall be in the following classes and it lists classes and there's a class there associate members i' I've been an associate member uh of prsk I would understand that so associate members no actually I've been a corporate member not an associate member sorry I've been corporate member associate members comprising members with less than 3 years experience in the practice of public relations and Communications management and shall be titled associate of The Institute of public relations and Communications management Kenya designatory letters being aipc K and two have no voting rights now in this class 21 uh first we would want you to give Clarity on the categories of membership so that members understand what kind of membership is this after giving that uh Clarity I would also want to know who becomes the custodian of the practicing certificate and maybe uh you would let us know uh does uh is the CEO of the regist and do they then become the custodian of the practicing certificate or who does in your view there's also a question that we were B we were we were trying to work around as members when we were unpacking this bill and the question here is is there a need um for having a a provision on U the regist to be able to be handling the certificates the registration uh of these farms and the removals of members from the from the membership role so uh talk to us about Cloud 21 on membership on two issues clarify how this membership happens and two who becomes the custodian of this practicing certificate you can take that those first uh batch of questions and then we shall come back to the other members and to fall back on any expertise you have uh that you carried with you in answering the questions that members have filled uh taken in your questions and the first set of questions from the honorable members and then we'll flow to those that you have uh expressively asked for for Clarity on so the first question I have um split them uh across with the to my colleagues um with uh Jesse answering the first question through the chair uh for those who have just joined my name is Jess Masai a council member uh of the Public Relation C of Kenya U and I suppos also chair because you are aligned the members in place already have certificates uh they not having to start from nowhere they already do have certificates I do um 8 to 5 by the way I serve a devolved unit called yandara uh so to do what I'm doing I do that based on the that I have as a full member um and that applies to anyone who is doing it in my team all of us do that um those joining um upon enactment we we certainly have to also get a certificate uh to become members uh we receive applications for student membership that's for those who are in school uh and school here I mean college or university we also have associate members the ones that uh the chair is referring to um this one is for those who are seeking to join the profession and who may not have a background in communication but either have the experience or are currently training towards joining the profession fully as communicators uh and I respect the chair for this because he has um had the courage to practice and also to train so that uh one can fully account for his uh journey into the profession uh there's no doubt that you paid the price so that's for the associate members and we have a door for upgrades uh this happens um uh periodically we assess your experience over time and your paperwork to show that actually you you now can move from being an associate member to being a full member so you have a training as is in the bill then you the associate member then the full member then we have a a category for our members who served for the longest time given their very best to the industry for many years these are the ones we call fellows um they are the gold standard of the profession uh they have done outstanding work for the industry and for our country uh and I think um there are very few there only 13 yes there 13 yeah at the last count so those are the categories and just for the clarity of members yes they might want to no you know um will will this bill provide for a PR a framework or a guide on the admission to become a fellow because that's an esteemed position yes um we've seen in bodies like where W Marin serves or or is a member of the LSK there was a position reserved which was almost like what you would call a fellow what they call a senior councel but nowadays you find young lawyers walking in the streets calling each other senior so we would like to know is there a framework or a or a guide to how as to how does the bill provide for how one is admitted to become a fellow of The Institute through the chair certificate or who is going to be issuing them and if they are coming with practicing certificates who authenticates those certificates thank you chair uh on the issue of fellows uh we we have a framework in place I chair the committee that initiates that action uh we have a very clear guine around that uh there are things we look out for the same framework will be carried over into the new Institute um one doesn't become a fellow easily and I fully appreciate the ucation around the lawyers and the struggles they have had uh it's not easy being able to decide who becomes a fellow and I think that applies to all of us um whatever one may be serving but for us it's very clearcut very clearcut we look out for experience for one we look out for Publications as another example we look out for outstanding work for example right now the country has at a very difficult um moment and our team lead here made reference to it we took the approach of not bashing the government you know blasting and all that we took the quiet troute uh we gave councel as was requested by the government years to come those who may come after us will look back and say when when Kenya had this very rough moment uh what happened so in the wisdom of those who may come after us there may be a way to look at how that happened so if we have a member who helped our country to come through this pH uh untiy as it has been in a way that honors the profession and our country there is a way that we can honor that through a fellowship among other other tools chair you asked about um 21 uh see and uh the pathway I wish to assure the committee and the country that where we have a member seeking to join and they don't have a background in com but the experience right they have worked this is one way we opening a door for kenion to join the society as associate members pending an upgrade into a full member and again that gen also can be fully accounted for in terms of Academia and experience and duration we have an Institute coming into place uh with a bill and cons to govern that Institute so this governing framework will be the one that will determine who gets the the certificate and who doesn't again based on a very clear criteria um just council member Jesse has said just to answer your question uh when you look at section 26 we are saying that the council issues that certificate I know you had asked who issues that certificate the council issues that certificate and it satisfies that the person is a full member with the uh credentials that he has given that has sufficient um continuous professional uh development points what we call CPD points and um you know this is valid for a year so this certificate comes from somewhere and the council sits through the Secretariat to actually see if you have met the criteria of that and and for you to actually have that certificate chair that is from somewhere else not from The Institute the question is in two parts uh the question is um you shall be verifying qualification or suitability and the question is where will that be domiciled and who is the authority doing it and if there shall be a body should that body also be seen in the bill should that body also be existing whether you call it a counil whether you call it a panel whether you call it whatever it is uh would you want for us to carry such a body in the bill because that's it's at this stage when we are building the bill that we can decide that we require such an organ in the Institute so uh Institute will be doing yes yeah speak to itas yes chair that is where I'm getting to because uh in uh Section 8 part C the council will be determining fees for applications registrations and membership it is not clear whether you're going to be doing training and that's why I'm insisting to know exactly where this practicing certificate is coming from it is going to be issued by the council that is okay but from where that skill is from where is it from you is it from outside and if it is from outside how will you authenticate that that training is clear I think so far uh for for capacity building and just to ensure that members uh fit the bill and go through that regor training and are subjected to the lip Mass test we have had anou with kasb and also we have also been in we have also been uh um in conversations with Daya University to actually offer this training where it could be in modules it could be in whatever form but then go through it certify that I Patricia I have gone through module one certificate one or whatever it may be and I have successfully completed and passed and therefore with that then the certification which comes from the um from from from prsk from us so that actually proves that you have been subjected to the Litas test you are not just walking in from some somewhere to come and say okay I I want to be a member but you know how how how are you doing this do you understand the science behind formulating a strategy do you understand the science behind you know managing a crisis and so on and so forth based on that so I I hope that answers the question uh we we the next batch of questions so I'd want for you to clear with the with the first batch yes so okay like a reaction to this yes pleas kindly being in involved in the issues of a number of institutes have upgraded themselves I'm a member of the chartered Institute of accountants and others the question my colleague asked you was very clear you seem to only want to your answer is I think one that is going to evolve so you you are telling us what you can do right now and you have M with a university here and University there but you do not have a criteria like if you in the charted in like when I was a charted accountant I had professional exams that were set by The Institute however we went for training with certain universities and everything else but we were trained to meet those exams set by The Institute so at this moment in time it appears you do not have any infrastructure nor any idea nor any forward planning of whether you'll be having your own Institute exams but you are depending upon public relations and communication management strategic management at some of the good universities uh how will you and based upon that you will give a certification so if I come with a PhD in uh public relations management from the bukusu University of U of China or somewhere one of the universities in uh in bukusu land uh which is a university but is not you know how will you deal with it do you understand me so what you your answer should be we should be assessing The Institute as well so so if you get somebody from the government uh Institute or Bankers Institute or whatever uh you would be guiding likewise and then what is the relationship with the Institute of banking with the Institute of chared accountancy with the Institute of U secretaries because they're all into PR I I I see to my sister here now thank you so um honorable chair had the first batch of questions uh from The Honorable members and we had split them um Council Jesse has entered the first and so just to make Clarity there's also there there's already a curriculum that has been developed there's already a curriculum in existence that has been developed and so that will come into the body of um the professional the professionalism of it in the second question that I will give my colleague um Eddie to to answer and so that will sufficiently answer uh your question on on the certification and who does it and how and also just give um unpack the whole curriculum that has already been developed so I'll give this chance to you uh councel Eddie thank you uh team leader through the remind us and take us to uh section 19 that actually provides for uh the qualification and registration which speaks to you know the um examination body uh um that actually will be able to provide that practicing certificate after a member has actually successfully passed the examination and this is what will allow us to be able to put in place the curriculum that we have already developed and they can be administered by any other university but it is actually an exam under curriculum that has been prepared by the council you can have a PhD in PR relations but when it comes to matters of practice and the ethical elements you would have the academic you'll not have the practice issues and that is what the curriculum is addressing and the exams that have been provided for by the council will be able to address that so once you've passed the exam you will be able now to be given now the practicing license and then you joining Now The Institute as a professional in the event that there is any discrepancies and issues to do with misconduct as the question that uh um honor abarat had requested had presented then we will be able to refer you to schedule 32 which provides for the disciplinary committee that we will be able to address issues to do with professional misconduct and any other matters that will be highly uh will bring the the practice or the council to distribute so um I think we have covered exhaustively in terms of the journey mapping from the time a member is uh expressing interest to join and that is where um my brother uh council member Jesse holds the membership and says there will be this categories of membership but you'll only apply to those membership once you've been able to go through the curriculum you've set for the exams administered by the Council of The Institute in this matter and then thereafter now you're able now to join your membership and then acquire your practice certificate you'll be required to renew your practicing certificate upon attaining the required CPD point The Continuous professional development points that will be given through various courses training workshops that will be taking place as you go along the year so I hope this will be able to address the matter to do with who provides the training certificate and also who provides the reg who is the regist for this exam and the quality assurance that is necessary and requisite for this if that is existing membership is going to be transitioned yes affirmative that is it so you you consider what has already been done by the society good enough for admission into the institute at the moment we would want to transition because we have already walked through the process with the members because there's a membership committee that actually looks and vets uh membership applications it comes with the requisite levels of checks and balances in terms of the academic qualifications the years in practice uh the added skill and advantages that the member provides to the profession and to the society at large and thereafter we also subject members to ensure that they can be able to GA a whole training calendar they go through a training calendar of the various courses so that suffices for now but going forward to the future that's why we want to say that let's have a a curriculum that you have developed that covers exhaustively all the other matters that are actually emerging in a practice that is not stuck in time we are not in 1971 we've moved and there are lot of issues that are emerging so we would want to expose members to those kind of issues there after they sit the exam and they'll be able now to come into the profession thank you uh so she will say it when she's coming to her substantive questions um is that the reaction to the first B of questions there was a writer that uh team leader had uh provided uh in terms of U what will be different as you asking your question and this is um important in the sense that uh as the team leader alluded in her opening remarks the reputational issues that affect the practice and the practitioners are going to be exhaustively addressed because for once we will have a standard of practice that is required of every member and thereafter we'll also have a level of you know peer accountability because then you provide and you stand in this membership we can be able to call you out because there's a standard provided at the moment there is no standard to call out anyone and say what accounts for PR and what is not PR we have seen recently a number of you know legal prec precedents that have been actually coached in the manner saying that for example uh public participation is PR exercise and you know that demeans you know it demeans in the sense of makes it cosmetic but it is not PR is not cosmetic at the same time PR is not burying dead bodies and walking away from a crime scene you know so we need to be able to say that even starting from a peer accountability space this is the bill that you'll be able to provide it and finally uh honorable chair I would like to say that lack of legislation and regulation will take us to a place of censorship and dictatorship because the government at any particular time of the day May easily Resort into very harsh penalties to address a particular issue yet censorship is not the solution to addressing matters of public engagement and consultation and that's why as our team leader said our stance has been consultative collaborative and empowering as opposed to actually throwing stones um whenever we see any glass house on the road I submit you've already started doing the work that the Institute we the work that we hoping the Institute will be doing yes team leader Patricia is that the responses to the first bch that is those are the responses to the first batch however I should say I must say that we have uh certain spillovers from the responses that have gone to the questions now that you asked on the second on the second bit um however I I if if with your permission uh we could go straight to the second uh group of questions that you had now uh thank you chair you you ask what will we say to that Kyan who is inquisitive and asking why are you creating yet another body um what is our justification now for our country to remain uh cohesive and responsive in a developing um and dynamic global environment such as where we are uh we require order and and chair and honorable members you will agree with me that now we are facing what you call New Media artificial intelligence uh social media is a space that is monster if I could call it because um you could mine information get any information truthful or otherwise uh from social media and therefore when we are facing um issues or scenarios um recent happenings uh as I also mentioned earlier require order and that order comes from somewhere you'll agree with me that even today as we have uh our cousins in the media and I always say uh you know media Council um uh marketing Society we are C we are cousins uh but we have very distinct um roles and objectives so even those who are with us today they are accredited by somebody they didn't just walk in here and because they have a camera and they ask for a job in a media house and you know you know how to zoom in and out and click and so you could come here they are accredited and if we ask them could we have your accreditation they have that accreditation from mck and so in the same breath we need order within our space honorable chair we need order and what are we saying we are saying that for you to be part of this team for you to be part of this space you need to have gone through you know rigorous training you need to understand what public relations and Communications entails you need to have some accountability with you you need to know that when I say this on behalf of my institution or behalf of my organization or if I'm the spokesperson for a certain entity then I am liable and then I also need to know that if I say this this is liable if I say this then this is these are the repercussions this is what is required of me this is the fine that I will have to put up with so that said it is important for us to demonstrate that and it would also be important for us to create work backwards as an entity as prsk to know that as this is going on and this hard questions are going to be asked by the citizenry what are we doing so we quickly formulate and fashion a public education and advocacy scenario which we can do very easily uh through free media social media uh through related media that um we have access to and showcase and demonstrate what is is the importance of this regulation what is the importance of us having um this bill and this and this body and just showcasing even where we are because it comes from a point of empathy we were all affected and inflicted in one way or another even if you are safe in the confines of your home but I can tell you as a citizen as a citizen of this country there is worry in your heart and you wonder what next where are we Ed to how did we get here what can be done better how can we change this into a glass that is half full and not half empty how can we resonate with the new um with the new uh um promises and the new uh strategies that the government has put in place so all this cannot be done in silence this has to be done with somebody holding the mantle this has to be done with somebody who is holding this strategy in their hand and saying this is the way this is what we are going to do and so with the public education with the advocacy with letting them know in a nice Silent Way without pushing it down their throats because Kenyans are also very worry of things that are pushed down their throats create create reason and create the need for them to understand that we do need this we need communication the other day um the president and also the Cs uh nominee for of Treasury uh had also you know mentioned that communication is lacking somewhere members and and and and and the citizens and members of the public were just saying no to this some do understand some understand it halfway some completely going with the wave and saying it because not because they understand but because it's fashionable to do so but let's move away from it being fashionable let's move away from trying to make an attempt to educate to create public education to create awareness and say this finance bill these are the merits and this is how it's going to help so that now you create an environment that is engaging and people can now PR and ask but without communication without information then you have disinformation and then what happens Hell Breaks Loose and even something small that would have been solved through uh communication information and and dissemination of of strategy and what the national treasury would give and what are the repercussions to us as a country uh politically economically and socially has now gone you know Up in Smoke so small things that could be um you know attended to issues that can be nipped in the BD through information through awareness left not to to you know without any ownership of of communication then ends up slapping us on the face and demonstrating that to the citizenry in those within those strategies and within those channels that I have outlined would be beneficial and I am sure honorable chair that when we do that in a proper way in a systematic way they would then appreciate why uh this body and this legalization is important just so that there is order and just so that at the end of the day when we are grappling with any other issue that is economic in nature um you know of social nature then our communication experts can pick it up from wherever they are be it in the Academia space government uh you know private sector and there's that song in unison and there's a formula to it so for me I think um we are not just creating another body but it is time and it is necessary that we do that thank you chair wonderful um I'll go to The Honorable jamatia County MP for baringo kindly this is a substantive question now this is time for you to ask thank you so much uh chairman and uh Madame Patricia and team um I've keenly been listening to the presentations and first of all I must say um I think um Pier in itself that probably that's how I understand is an amorphous you know it can be defined in many ways uh the team leader have U allow me to interject at that point uh public relations is not a Mor us but I will not attempt in the presence of such experts toine but allow me just to give the team leader just an opportunity to Define for you PR she had alluded to it being a science and it being an art at the same time so I'd want her to give a a textbook definition of public relations just and you might want to call upon or depend upon simple language just simple language Define it for member so that she basic is a question on the right premise yes I I I don't want to sound very academic and uh if you if you have followed my descriptions since I came here I've been trying to give very uh localized um examples just so that we are able to internalize and you're also able to mirror so public relations uh basically is an art yes and an science depending on what you looking at and how you're going about it a science because when we look at strategy and we look at formulating strategies there's a certain outline on how to even just come up with a strategy up until to the end and with an m and and and looking at what comes first to the end so those Frameworks uh give it that definition of it being um a science but an art is because uh we call it an art because an art is something that is not specific is not specific to how I will do it how I cook my food is not how you cook your food honorable member with all due respect yes differently but at the end of the day it's petable at the end of the day it is nutritious but some people boil before some people just let everything cook together but in the long run there's something that is coming out of it so the art of it and how to do it is is also you know different in nature and depending on the scenario depending on the situation that is now how you apply that art and how you apply the science it is like going to a doctor for instance if um if if if for example it's it's a case of Dermatology you will go to a dermatologist you will not go to a dentist you know so you have to be very specific onto what the challenge is what you're addressing and then apply the technique appropriately just for you to get your end result she was POS posing a question mesh uh public relations is basically a strategic Communications that organizations or entities apply so that they're able to engage with the different publics and give a a specific image and um not just to give an image to actually communicate effectively uh with with the different publics and stakeholders but uh pose your question now but yes to to also agree with you when that happens as honorable chair has said over time when that happens what he has described happens then it creates a brand and an image and a specific image as an end result it contributes to your BR trust at the end of the day my question is uh since 1971 what are the gains of public relations in this country two who are who are what are the qualifications when you do your um um curriculum or something like that what are the qualification of a peer person and because I want to believe uh most of the work or the public relations you know section is mainly domised in a communication sector I want you to give a scenario of how Kenyan media institutions like TVs radios uh and all those do they brand like for instance when if um like for instance during the demonstrations and all this just using example of what you've actually been giving us as a um as a scenario so what happens in that scenario what happens when people go to the street and they they destroy and we still have a contion that gives you the the right to demonstrate while other people are doing it while you have an image to protect and a contion to protect and then there's this institution called PRS that is sitting somewhere and we expect the institution probably to be the one guiding maybe now uh I'm probably jumping ahead uh probably that is when are now realizing that it is important for this institution to be in place properly uh but what happens in the media do on this code of conduct of on this Pi you know image presentation how do we uh come back and come back you know calm you know come back the situation after whole aggressiveness and all those kind of things to protect the image of the country I want to speak for the image of the government number two um who are your client Els do you work for government or you specifically do private work so that when you are we are dealing with this bill if you will at any time uh we we would be dealing with a money Bill this is going to be cof money it's not is not a money Bill so if it's not a money Bill um so how do you do the registration you know know you want to have all the it's an institution and this institution most likely is going to be pegged on a budget so how do you do the budget you put it is it an a private entity or non governmental you know something along that lines probably and then uh in the era of today just like you put it clearly madam that H we are dealing with the New Media world what are the specific things that you really intend to do so that you might you will be catching up with the realities of the day and specifically whether if you are dealing with an institution for for instance or like Parliament when Parliament and parliamentarians are going through torrents of media aggressiveness you know we have members of parliament who were through X the other day were abused Left Right Center they were trolled all over the place what really happens who are the apart from the institutions because the media here uh will be reporting about the negativity which I think sells more I don't know in this world today it is the negative part of the society that sells better than the positive part but at the end of the day as a country an institution like Parliament which is the citizenry I like the way you put it all the time that are supposed to be the consumers so how do you as a peer uh going to you know balance between projecting the right information and getting it into the I mean waving out of the negativity that is so much into the market nowadays I don't know whether I've uh uh put something across properly thank you uh uh she touched on it and I think it's of a great concern to to her and to us um as you know that I did public relations in both my Ms and my PhD so people do public relations in Strategic Management when they even dentists Etc uh but as you said we specialize the question that I have for you is there's been a big gap Mr chair between PR corporate and PR that's required for National Public Communication your policy for government there is no national uh Public Communication policy or design for government infrastructure there is no PR uh um sort of dos and don'ts and how which would be guided towards government public institutions Etc even in even in accountancy we got what we call public accountants who are working in the public service and then the priv do do you see what I'm trying to say um my knowledge of this inst this Society have known it for some time is that you are very much being strictly a CO Cooperative um corporate PR and communication because that's what that is what the most dynamic issue is and that's what's required in the newspapers and other things and for government strategies no and for strategies Etc with within within communic within within companies however if you go to the government training college or some of these Bank you know there their issue of PR uh public re Rel relations and communication is is uh at the best wanting uh so they are taking what is called corporate PR and trying adapt it into into uh government how would you wish to I hope that you as a public relations P unit the association would cover both elements and I hope that you would be able to to put together that would you be able to or have you looked at any formation of a national public communication and policy design uh for government infrastructure it's is something that has come up in in um in research and then a number of people who have written about it Mr chair that there's a Gap right is a big gap between the two that big gap causes in itself miscommunication caus it in itself misunderstanding so the guys who's sitting like our my dear friend right now um Isaac MAA uh he's he's there as a government spokesman and uh he may not know he he his view of public relations is totally different like Alfred Mata came in from from the private sector Mr chair if you remember try to apply private sector based public relations take off the trees and put flowers uh that sort of uh thing whereas public relations formation um needs needs this um reconciliation between the two uh and the sooner that your Institute would be able to I hope that you would be able to look at that proposal that there should should be PR for government that a PR policy I mean the word that I I've borrowed from the internet formation of National Public Communication policies and design for government infrastructure in PR I think I don't want to say more than that but the fact of the issue is even in the last in the last problems that we've had with genz and others we've always had different understanding of what PR is there the the the news the u news media is has gone off in One Direction somebody us has gone our Public public servants have gone up in another Direction and and there is a major Gap I think I want to say that and we just say that yeah uh thank you very much honorable jamatia and uh thank you very much honorable Shakil I want you to take this question one more please if you don't mind I chair the anti-corruption uh African parliamentarians against corruption if either a body like ours or a body like the EC or a body that is looking at the possibility of corrupt activities or activities that are Beyond reproach uh reports one of your members to you uh what would you do would you then put them to a regular exercise of powers and privileges uh your your committee because our powers and privileges committee doesn't is not able to work on any of these these particular things would you say to person listen you have been you've been accused is not gone to court yet but we feel that this institute is above reproach and we feel that you should step down at least or we put you on sort of a watch list while we are investigating you would you have that sort of thing in inserted into your powers into your articles um I know you've listened very well to the questions from the two members and in the interest of time I'd want you to respond only within the scope to which your answers will be speaking to the bill before us because some of the questions are very good questions but very conceptual if we started to unpack PR here we would now be in class for another uh few days just unpacking PR and in fact even a very good question from honorable Shaquil how we have cutomized how we have diomed the corporate communication and public comes um and and to his mind he Sayes as if they cannot work together no they can but they're not right now exactly uh to The Honorable jamatia she also poses some extremely good questions so just answer them only to the extent that they speak to the bill before us take your time thank you honorable chair and um I will attempt to answer those questions but also um give some to my colleagues um just so that there is no uh fatigue response or you know me perhaps leaving out anything but I I think I'm up to the task I will I will make the attempt so um honorable Shaquil um asks about the the big gap between PR corporate and you know what next for government I would just like to say that like any other profession uh communication we have those EXP expertise on uh uh development Communications government Communications uh those on the corporate um Academia you know who actually understand the subject matter and then now uh translate it into Communications and PR so yes um that is very possible uh we have government Communications uh communicators within ourselves and Specialists who have so far been called to sit at the table with other media practitioners and other leaders in government to even just um address the crisis that we have now so that is his question in as pertains to this bill would probably be answered if you framed it around by instituting or bringing to life this institute do we start addressing the issues that we are seeing with government being very handicapped in communicating because as it is right now there is a society and you're asking us to transition it into an Institute how will that play out in terms of uh of government coms scaling up U thank you and communicating more effectively thank you CH it says that um government uh the the it looks at the functions of the Institute giving advice to government on matters relating to public relations and Communications management to so straight to answer you and to your point yes but this is not to sufficiently answer your question Shaquille because see this honorable Shaquille not only are they doing what is stipulated in G but they are also bringing sanity and order to the entire PR space right now there's not a single Ministry or department or agency that does not have a Communications Department so now with the new Institute then the Institute is able to take to task officers already deployed in some of these agencies to bring them up to the level of the standards that are required for communication up to and including the requisite training I would imagine that's uh that's intent and and and you speak to you speak to Pat J you speak to P J which says to collaborate with national Regional and Global bodies in the matters of public relations and Communications management and so that is by giving the expertise and looking at the situations at hand so that uh PR and Communications is at the start of every discussion at the discuss the the the start of every uh discussion on management and and also within the preserves of the public relations um uh sectors within every national uh Institute or body institution or body I'd like to rest it in interest of time okay ask ask okay chair I don't speak just ad hoc I was in the public I went to Isaac maro's office the other day and I went to see a huge communication about y well say um and some of them are people we know then I I saw this gentleman um he's the director he used to be huh no the guy he used to be the EG no no I have no problem he's good guy what I'm trying to put together you see what you're talking about is it's under all these items you're talking about the Institute shall shall in be capable no shall shall register etc etc these are these are your your desires that you will be able to facilitate and whatever we were wondering how within your thing you could make make it stronger uh so that I I'm try I'm trying to explain this to you um I'm a charted accountant I'm an accountant if I am seen at a CD joint or something wrong with me see just to write to the British Institute of Chartered Accountants they will put me on on on notice if I am working for a government and I'm breaking the standard accounting practices there is something that there is there so I was hoping for you to say to me here that look among of among some of these things as we are now setting out we were moving transiting from a society to an Institute to to strengthen that Institute and we'll be coming up with standards that will be met by all by all practitioners so if you have that gentleman who is a director of communication in the in the office the government spokesman he must be a member and meet those standards and if he does not meet those standards and you don't meet that reactory um standard you know there must be something like a Reconciliation body a Reconciliation body where we going to sit and say listen the government is looking at it this way we as PR and the public relations communication this is the standards and they are breaking our standards I'm trying to come to honorable Shaquil you have very well actually answered your question earlier on they had made a presentation as to the overarching reasons that uh prompt them to ask us to move this from a society to an Institute and key among them why exactly what you're saying you know bringing sanity and order in the Comm space uh the regulations and the standards the code of conduct the support for government services and and so on so the the the answer you already gave it honorable Shaquille that by having an Institute that becomes the center of Truth and giving the gold standard for public relations they're not only uplifting the individual practitioners but uplifting the entire space of communications and then holding to account the people who claim to be members of The Institute so that if there is a government uh spokesman then that government spokesman will be waited against the standards given by The Institute and it will also be a requirement uh just as if just as it is required that an engineer working at a certain level for Kura or Kaa or any other agency has to carry a certain qualification then this institute becomes that Institute for communications so in a way addressing not in a way actually addressing your question Mr chair are very we're very fortunate to have you as a as a specialist in this issue I think you just hit what our concern was like Kura now the the engineer for regional engineer for Kura is now preparing a road and instead of preparing a certain quality of road he goes and prepares a lesser quality now he would be taken to task by the engineers uh I speak so because of my experience Mr chair uh as I said been here for some time uh we worked on the institute for was it Insurance Brokers not that long ago in the last Parliament the same thing came over how we are going to Transit how we going to bring these people into the thing how we going to control this this Menace of U uh but we we had some very brilliant answers and thoughts but where we went after that is still back to the stage one I'm not for one minute saying that you would you would go that way but do please uh bear with me if I'm being a little pantic it's because we have seen this come before we've seen it come in in the 17 years in Parliament M chair I've seen it coming a number of times and I never really finished uh this and we're hoping that the P PR prsk will be a will be the exception to the rule thank you sir that is not a question that's a comment and uh he makes a good point you know seasoned Member of Parliament but also with great interests in U matters to do with uh governance he's chairing a cus which UPN which is a a a caucus that is up against corruption so that's why he's looking for the mechanisms that make it uh possible for someone to be answerable for for for professional um professional uh shortcomings kindly respond to the questions uh this time I'll push you for time A bit thank you chair out of your concerns I just want to say that as as a society we have not just waited for this to pass but we have gone a step ahead to even engage um offices such as those of the government spokesperson to do capacity building guide them on what needs to be done and also be part of the conversation as we create a a a communication strategy for the office of the government spokesperson um now um who are our clientele I'll just in in the beginning when I was giving out uh mapping out what we constitute in terms of our membership talking about the Academia the public sector private sector um those in uh development communication uh also looking at um uh those in private sector um also just to include the citizens because you actually realize that people are yearning for information and they're not getting it um so and looking outwardly I just also want to underscore the fact that as a society when you look at ourselves regionally and internationally we have made certain um strides and Milestones that I I will say and I I allow me to also just brag on behalf of our nation that we have uh set um a president and also just showcased how leadership within the uh public relations space um could be and and as we speak right now uh Kenya and and and our chair uh who is our team overall team lead is the president of ARA the African the public relations Association in Africa and we have also uh brought together the East African public relations Association AAA and that also is our br child which we are now walking um walking the path with our our neighboring countries Kenya Uganda Tanzania Uganda Rwanda we also doing Sudan Bundi and uh we held the first East African public relations week two years ago last year was hosted by Uganda and this year is being hosted by Tanzania so that would not have been possible if we had not set the pace in terms of um giving direction uh within the public relations and communication space um at advancing the the subject matter of of public relations and Communications and giving it relevance and and bringing together um practitioners within the region so I must say that our our our clientele spans um inwardly and also uh within the regional level and how do we bring calm um you ask how how do we bring calm in the middle of all this adversity and everything that is happening now the issue that has been is that when you look at where we are right now and figure out why couldn't ABC have stopped this before we reached here and I want to say it is because there there's no proper framework there is no order there is no proper training in terms of who is sitting as a director of Communications in government for example you find somebody who reads well and with all due respect with their training in in in media and and and journalists um you know uh being a newscaster but being a Communications uh director or overseeing the functions of communications within a county within a government entity and within a government office does not just entail reading news there's so much more to it there is looking at a communication strategy fashioning it looking at the environment looking at audience segmentation what appeals to them how can we now break down um a communication policy what speaks to our needs as an entity uh as a government entity for that matter so they will look nice the brand is good the name is good is a household name but when you the rubber meets the road honorable members when the rubber meets the road we are now dealing with handicapped people we are now dealing with people who are sending out pressers calling the you know members of the fourth estate which is good but Communications and PR is a 360 it is not just about media relations it is about internal Communications and also external Communications it is about looking at a strategy it is about um writing speeches studying your boss or the person you you you report to finding out does this speak to the manifesto of the day the the government Manifesto of the day embedding it in what you're saying showcasing your prod your projects and your products and looking at the agenda of the day is this embedded in what you say on a daily basis do you have a social media strategy for instance what are we saying in this quarter what are we exemplifying and what are we saying these are our outputs so when you have bodies seated there who do not have that training who do not have the ethical understanding of what entails PR and Communications and who have that drive to continuously CH out then the calm will not happen so for us to have come we have to have those people with us chairman I am not um I mean being a politician sometimes makes you just a peer person because you you you deal with things we are whether trained or not circumstance makes you behave with a lot of peer if you look at carefully are you I was watching nowadays when you when you during those torrent times I went back to history and I looked at how Mo for instance managed his time of um you know rough times and and everyone is different personality is also different Mo would apply patriotism to calm the situation when people were fighting and all those you would just you know uh send a message to all media houses radios specifically to play patriotic songs that alone makes Kenyans look like you know we have a country to settle and something to YN to it I want to know as a peer professional what are the tenants what are the things that you do you know there are things that it's like uh going to class there's a formula what are the things you do because you are managing people's emotions during uh very high times like these ones what was the things that the government should have done at the height of that what should for it for the country to just come down without necessarily now we having 9 the other day we probably have another thing most likely we have not solved the problem so the pr as a professional because I want now that I am interacting with a PR person for all along I've never seen one or I've never interacted with one is there chair is one and so those you know I I needed this you people because we going to be an institution Now to create solution based Constitution or tenants when it is hard high what do you make people go down and that is when the per factor for if you ask me is when it's needed an occasion we are not going to have a again and sometimes you take advantage of whatever we have my my colleague has made an excellent point uh the other is that we want to you know at a when something goes wrong from point of view of law you see the chair of LSK and everybody come out and say something I haven't seen the chair of PS public relations Society come up we have for the first time we are topped Africa in the Olympic in the Olympic record 17 medals or no 11 medals uh only China we will be you know if this was Britain yeah we would be accentuating the PO right now there no there wouldn't be a newspaper they didn't have this photographs of these people here is a person who's broken a world record not only world record there is no man or woman alive who has won three Olympic medals consecutively and we are not and three there's no man or woman right no there isn't yet we are taking it you know where is you where is our PR where is our PR when by now we should be singing this is uh it's you get the S it's the same point that The Honorable jamaa was trying to make um point is made uh what I might not open the floor for is um is uh for the second bit of the question honorable jtia the individuals you see before you are practition a practicing communicators and they do have a fee they have a rate card when they do consultancy they they charge and uh you know it is funny it is only we people in Communications who are told to offer this consultancy for free nobody ever asks the doctor treat me so I want to Shield them from offering any Professional Services or consultancy go to can get not and we have very good um I I can vouch for the communicators in Kenya but the point is made that uh in the situation that the country is there is a need to engage public and to engage them in the right way so Madame Patricia I would want you to in reaction to the comments that you're making to also make your final remarks yes as I make my final remarks I also just want to answer a question that was brought in by honorable uh Madame that um of the budget where are we getting the budget uh this is self- financing currently we are we depend on membership subscriptions we also depend on training we have a training calendar that gives a whole array of the training that is available for members uh within the corporates private and public sector on issues to do with uh you know PR Communications from speech writing to um internal Communications and and all that and we also have um we also have programs that look at um engaging members on a weekly basis on a on a on a monthly basis we have Town Halls where we also discuss all these things on what they would like to see in the training budgets and uh sorry in the training calendar and so on and so forth so we we we we get our finances from there and um when you look at section 35 uh it gives the provisions or the financial Provisions which says that the funds of The Institute shall consist of monies or fees as may be payable to The Institute under the act and I have just mentioned those um and then also the assets as May The Institute in the exercise of its powers uh grants donations and also when you look at when you look at uh other institutions other public institutions of similar nature who had co