The Public Relations and Communication Management Bill was read for the first time in the National Assembly on Thursday 25th April 2024. This is the first of five key steps the Bill will go through in the legislative process before it becomes law. In this Stage, the Bill was read by the Clerk. No debate took place, and no question was put forth. After the Reading, the Bill was assigned a tracking number and was committed to the Departmental Committee on Communication, Information, and Innovation.

Mr. Arik Karani, President of the Public Relations Society of Kenya.

The significance of the First Reading is that the Bill has left the preparatory processes and is formally before the floor of the House and the Legislation Process has commenced. Further, assignment of the tracking number means that the public can now follow the Bill’s progress through the Bill Tracker in the Parliamentary Website. In the next coming weeks, the Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation is expected to undertake public participation, stakeholder engagement, and expert consultation, and report back to the House within 30 calendar days.

The Report to the House informs the debate during the Second Reading. PRSK continues to encourage members to participate in the process to improve and enrich the Bill when the Committee calls for memoranda and holds public hearings. The committee will also hold a sitting with PRSK as a key stakeholder, and we will be ready to engage them on behalf or members and other professionals

The PRSK Secretariat continues to receive suggestions and comments on the Bill directly through admin@prsk.co.ke and also through ongoing sector consultations.

This process has been spearheaded by the PRSK, which is the umbrella body for all Public Relations and Communication practitioners in Kenya. The Society has a vision to advance excellence in the practice, and runs professional development programmes to educate and transfer human capital knowledge on the impact of Corporate Communication, sets standards of excellence and ensure Public relations practice continues to thrive under an ethical framework.Based in Nairobi, PRSK has 3 active membership categories: Full, Associate and Student categories.