- EAC secretary Peter Mathuki expressed his support for the initiative, emphasising its importance in coordinating the media in the region under one umbrella.
- He urged the team to make deliberate efforts to reach out and recruit more members from EAC partner states to join the Press Council to create a sense of ownership.
Image: MEDIA COUNCIL OF KENYA/ TWITTER
Media Councils from East Africa region have set up the East African Press Council that will bring together regulators from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda.
In a statement by the Media Council of Kenya on Friday, the regional press council will aim to promote media regulation development.
MCK executive secretary of Tanzania Kajubi Mukajanga said the council will also address issues on press freedom among journalists in the region.
“Plans to reach out to the media regulators from DRC, Ethiopia, Burundi, Somalia and South Sudan are at an advanced stage,” reads the statement.
Kenya's MCK CEO David Omwoyo said that EAPC will provide a platform focused on promoting regional press freedom and monetisation of digital platforms.
“It will raise sustainable income for media houses and capacity building for media workers,” Omwoyo said.
“We realised that our media development and regulatory mandate is cross-border and therefore we cannot restrict our mandate to geographical borders. This was also necessitated by our frequency of trade areas.”
EAC secretary Peter Mathuki expressed his support for the initiative, emphasising its importance in coordinating the media in the region under one umbrella.
“We work closely with such institutions because they are cross border and they cut across. Once you are fully established, we can give you an observer status to legally enable you to attend meetings of the summit and various councils,” Mathuki said.
"The observer status will accord the media the advantage of their views and ideas mainstreamed into policy through direct communication with the heads of states during the summits.”
He urged the team to make deliberate efforts to reach out and recruit more members from EAC partner states to join the Press Council to create a sense of ownership.
Further, he directed his team to assist with coordination for ease of communication with representatives from the remaining member states.
He also pledged full support and commitment to convince the Council during its meeting to grant the media observer status for proper coordination of information within the East African Community.
The leaders noted that the spirit behind the establishment of the EAPC was due to the similar nature of the media regulation systems, media consumption patterns, media development and press freedom concerns among the countries.
The meeting took place at the East African Community headquarters based in Arusha, Tanzania, in preparation for the inauguration of the East Africa Press Council.
“The Association plans to hold its inaugural meeting through a regional media regulation and content moderation summit in Arusha, where the East African Community is domiciled in a meeting that will bring together regulators, high-ranking government officials, policymakers, editors and journalists to raise the issue of protection and promotion of media freedom protocols to the regional leaders,” reads the statement.