The Media Council of Kenya held a one-week team building exercise for its staff from 25th -30th January 2021, at the Tafaria Castle in Ndaragwa, Nyandarua County.The team building exercise was geared towards increasing collaboration, encouraging communication, building trust, mitigating conflict, and setting pace for the new year.
The team was taken through an appraisal exercise for the last financial year after which they embarked on developing departmental and individual workplans for the year. Performance Contracting is a process that seeks to enhance the accomplishments of an organization for accountability and prudent use of resources in provision of quality services to the public. The MCK having signed its PC with the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs, cascaded the contract to the various departments and staff. The process included outlining of core services offered by the Council and defining ways of achieving them.
Mr. David Omwoyo, CEO, MCK, incited the team to appreciate the institution and put in the effort to achieve the council’s objectives. He also congratulated the team for the exemplary work performed especially during the COVID pandemic and noted that the Council was lauded for this during a Cabinet meeting. Among other issues, the CEO also remarked on the restructuring and re-organisation of the Council which was aimed at devolving some of the activities to the counties.
Ms. Susan Karago, a board member at MCK, appreciated efforts made by the staff during the COVID-19 pandemic and urged them to continue with the same spirit in 2021.
In his opening remarks, the Chair of the council, Mr. Maina Muiruri called upon staff members to have a positive attitude. He stated that the Council is experiencing growth in terms of expansion into four regional offices and enrollment of new staff. He implored those transferred to regional offices to treat it as a sign of better things to come.
He noted that one of the biggest projects of 2020 was helping journalists with grants as an emergency response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and related gaps in the public health ecosystem in Kenya. He applauded the team on their efforts and resilience during that period.
Mr. George Tafaria, the proprietor of Tafaria Castle, took the team through a brief introduction of how the castle came to existence. He spoke on the importance of investing and developing your team and the community living around you. He ended his remarks by stating that, its important to have a goal/dream as it defines one’s life, break the goals into manageable steps and follow the set-up steps with brutal consistency.