Veteran journalist Naim Bilal is new KBC managing director

Veteran journalist Naim Bilal has been appointed the new managing director of the State broadcaster, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.

Information, Communication and Technology Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru announced the three-year appointment in a gazette notice dated March 20, 2019.

Prior to his appointment, Dr Bilal was the director of information at the ICT ministry and has previously worked at the Nation Media Group as a senior editor.

He has also worked at the Judiciary as the director of communications.

The MD’s position at KBC has been without a substantive boss after the retirement of Mr Waithaka Waihenya, who was temporarily replaced by Mr Paul Jilani in an acting capacity.

The decades-old State broadcaster has been in dire financial straits.

Over the years, KBC sank into deep financial mess prompting the Auditor-General to declare it technically insolvent in 2016.

TURNAROUND KBC

In a statement released Friday, CS Mucheru said that Dr Bilal will be expected to develop a turnaround strategy for KBC in order “to wake up the sleeping giant”.

Specifically, the new managing director will be expected to ensure that the broadcaster becomes the leading choice of information and news for all Kenyans, across its various broadcast channels,” Mr Mucheru said.

He added that the new MD will be expected to ensure that KBC improves its production capacity and ensure production of quality Kenyan content.

Dr Bilal worked for the Nation Media Group for 19 years, becoming a managing editor in both the print and broadcasting divisions.

In 2009, he served as the Director of the House Live Broadcasting Project in the National Assembly under the Parliamentary Strengthening Project which was co-implemented by the State University of New York (SUNY Kenya).