Kenyans in the creative industry will have to work for Sh100 million that was promised to them last month by President Uhuru Kenyatta, the government has announced.
Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Heritage and Culture Ambassador Amina Mohamed while launching the Artist and Musician Stimulus Program at Kenya National Theater on Monday, said the money is not a reservoir of free funds, but a provision to educate, innovate, sustain and improve our output as a sector.
NURTURE TALENT
She said the objective was to continue developing and nurturing talent to ensure that the sector remains a significant contributor to our economy post-Covid-19.
“This campaign will 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 during this period,” Mohamed said.
According to the CS, artistes from different creative sectors will 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.
These artistic productions will be carried through various assets set up by the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage such as “KULTURE TV” and other collaborative media outlets.
This project will supplement government’s efforts in combating Covid-19 and its effects by engaging and mobilizing the cultural and creative artists in strategic messaging on behaviour change to flatten the coronavirus transmission curve.
This is in line with the guidelines set by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization.
CUSHIONING ARTISTES
The CS said that artistes will also carry messaging to encourage mental well-being and influence positive behaviour to address the increased cases of domestic violence and other social issues.
It is estimated that the program will directly benefit over 20,000 musicians, actors and artistes from all 47 Counties and over 80,000 additional persons from the beneficiaries’ households, 30 percent of whom being vulnerable groups and persons living with disabilities.
These projects will take 3 months starting from May to July 2020 with various government agencies tasked to roll out and supervise the implementation of the Programme coordinated by the administrative arm of the ministry with direct reports to the Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture and Heritage and Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communication, Technology and Youth.
Last month during a presidential address, President Kenyatta said that in a bid to empower the youth and forester sustainable livelihoods, local artistes will get a chunk of Sh100 million every month.
President Kenyatta said the Sh100 million fund will allow artistes, actors and musicians to continue entertaining the public through TV, radio and the internet.
Coronavirus and the resultant curfew in Kenya has hit those working in the creative industry in the country hard with productions almost grinding to a halt.
Production have been adversely impacted across many countries in the continent and most have either been slowed down or ground to a complete halt.
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