President William Ruto during a Townhall meeting at KICC on Monday, December 9, 2024
President William Ruto has disclosed that the government has already paid Sh500 million in its bid to host the Grammys in 2027.
Speaking during a Townhall meeting on Monday night, Ruto said the same can be confirmed by representatives of the Grammys who were present at the event.
“The money for Grammys we already paid. We already paid Sh500 million and I’m sure the gentleman from Grammys can confirm that that is the direction we are going,” he said.
The President’s remarks came after Dennis Itumbi, the head of Presidential Special Projects and Creative Economy, said that he had given them the go-ahead to bid for the hosting.
Itumbi insisted that hosting the World Creative Economy Conference will help unlock Kenya’s potential in the sector.
“The President has already given instructions for us to begin bidding for the World Creative Economy Conference in 2027. To become the first African country to bring the world sector here because that will unlock the entire creative economy,” he stated.
President Ruto further said the Creative Bill which is already in the National Assembly will make things better for creatives in the country.
He said Bill will provide solid directions on intellectual property issues as well as deal conclusively with piracy-related issues.
“The Creative Bill is going through in parliament to specifically remove the challenges you have highlighted. To update the law so that we remove outdated legislation and provide for a sure footing on matters intellectual property and to deal with matters piracy,” the President said.
President Ruto has been very keen on unlocking the country’s creative and digital economy since he took over the leadership of the country.
"Our Plan identifies the creative economy as well as culture and heritage to be highly promising drivers of transformation and employment creation," he previously said.
To achieve this, Ruto said, the government is implementing robust legislative bills including the Culture Bill that was already approved by the cabinet.
"Others like the Creative Economy Framework, National Kiswahili Council of Kenya Bill, the Kenya Film Bill, the National Heritage and Museums Bill, are currently being developed," he said.
