Description
In 2017, the newly elected government set out to tackle four agenda in its last term spanning 2017-2022. The agenda is pinned on the urgent need to boost the employability of the Kenyan youth by revamping the manufacturing sector to be able to contribute 15 per cent of the country’s GDP from the then 9 per cent by 2022. The second agenda was laying down plans and strategies to boost food production and supply while thirdly providing universal healthcare to all Kenyans homes. The last agenda was to come up with plans to build at least half a million affordable houses by the end of the Jubilee government's in the second term. Whereas the agenda is a road map towards sustainable development goals, its implementation needs to be closely monitored by relevant cultural institutions led by mass media; which is best placed as the most powerful cultural institution. The research sought to find out 1) whether the media have plans to oversee the implementation 2) how far they have gone in tracking the records of implementation and 3) their scorecard for the government performance on the agenda 4) and their strategic plans with regard to the oversight. The research examines the preparedness of the four leading media (the Nation Media Group [NMG], The Standard, the Royal Media Services, the Mediamax and the Kenya broadcasting corporation [KBC]) in the oversight of the agenda. The researcher collected data through questionnaires and interview schedules. Purposive sampling is used for respondents from the five targeted news media houses. Agenda setting theory, which positions the media as an influencer of citizens on salient issues was used. The assumption is that if media gives prominence and frequency to matters of national importance; the citizens and cultural institutions easily adopt the transformation agenda easily.
