The Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture and Heritage Amina Mohammed has called upon all artists, actors and musicians represented across the country to submit their works for the “Work for Pay” Kshs. 100 million stimuli package provided by His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta to cushion the creative industry during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

These were her sentiments during the burial of renowned Legend John Nzenze’s burial over the weekend read by former MCSK Chairman Bernard Mukaisi Iganga.

In her tribute to the fallen maestro, The CS said, “John Nzenze will be remembered as the musician who pioneered African twist with among others, the single 'Angelike Twist'. His recordings will forever be an inspiration to all his peers and should inspire young and upcoming musicians and artists.”

“We will miss his great performances but all those he motivated will keep his vision alive through each small action we take towards enabling a better music and cultural industry.” She added.

The CS has also encouraged artistes to put in submissions in support of John Nzenze’s legacy which will stand as a resounding example to all the musicians,  who revered Nzenze  as an inspiration.

The Ministry has engaged the private sector, artists and the entire industry in discussions to review and enhance the effectiveness and commercial value of music production.

The government has designated the Permanent Presidential Music Commission (PPMC) as a key resource in this endeavor to expand their studios to accommodate many more artists in affordable high quality vocal, instrumental training and production.

PPMC has mentored more than 10,000 musicians since August last year and is set  to spread creation resources to all 47 Counties, particularly those with a critical mass of legendary composers and vocalists.

In order to streamline operations within the industry, the government has waived the fees required by the Department of Culture to register cultural artists, including herbalists, with the Ministry.

This will ensure that no one is locked out of this process on account of lack of financial resources.

Amina noted 'I urge and encourage artists and musicians to register with the Department of Culture to provide us a platform to communicate and work together to build the sector''.

The Ministry will soon roll out a non-internet based USSD code to allow more people from the counties to enroll as well as commence production road shows to evaluate and package entries from across the country.

Four State House officials have contracted COVID-19 and are currently receiving treatment at the the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital in Kiambu County.

According to a statement from State House Spokeswoman Kanze Dena the four cases were reported following mass testing conducted at State House on June 11.

"Families and close contacts of the affected officers are also being attended to accordingly" said Kanze.

Adding ''To strengthen Covid-19 containment measures, extra access protocols for State House staff residing outside the compound and visitors have been rolled out'

Kanze however assured Kenyans that President Uhuru Kenyatta and all members of the First Family are safe.

This comes as the ministry of health recorded 133 new COVID-19 cases Monday, raising total infections tally to 3,727.

33 patients who have recovered from the virus have also been discharged, according to health CS Mutahi Kagwe.

Kenya has recently shown a real interest in chatbot technology evidenced by the fact that most organisations increasingly see it as a fast and effectiveway of enhancing the Customer Experience (CX) and Customer Engagement - driving efficiencies across their business.

This is according to Noah Amoke, Sales Executive for Kenya and Uganda at Infobip Africa, who says that the appetite for chatbots among enterprises in Kenya is largely driven by the realisation that they need to engage with customers on the platforms and channels of their choice, in a timeframe that today’s connected customers have come to expect

“This means that companies are opening more channels to communicate with their customers, such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, web chat or email, and they want to offer a 24/7 consistent and standardised experience across all these channels. This can be done via a chatbot,” says Amoke.

“The increasing maturity of chatbot technology is also a driving factor for adoption. The current chatbots that are on the market have some limitations, especially in terms of understanding natural language. However, as more sophisticated chatbots become available, that offer with Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities, we expect to see much higher uptake.”

Amoke notes that customisable chatbots, that support NLP, is a huge requirement in a multilingual country such as Kenya, where different dialects and languages are spoken, depending on the region.

Connected Kenya

As Kenya is leading the continent in terms of smartphone penetration and Internet usage, the phone is key to most transactions and activities in the country. Kenya has a 91% penetration of mobile subscriptions, compared to Africa’s 80%.

It is not surprising then that the country’s enterprises need to provide a mobile first platform that allow their customers to communicate with them via chat apps, that are available 24/7, which greatly enhances customer service.

“However, it’s not just about enhancing customer services. The appetite for chatbot solutions also stems from the fact that they can lower the operating costs of companies and provide efficiencies that call centre agents cannot,” says Amoke.

He points out that chatbots can deal with multiple queries at a time, and call centres that deploy chatbots need less physical infrastructure, such as office space, meaning that they need to employ fewer agents and can spend less on salaries hence lowers cost of operations.

“It’s also about flexibility. A chatbot can be deployed over multiple communication channels, be it WhatsApp, SMS, Facebook Messenger, web chat or email, and the quality and consistency of the response – the entire experience – remains unchanged across the various channels,” says Amoke.

Financial and telecoms uptake

George Muhia, Pre-sales Engineer at Infobip Africa, says uptake of chatbot technology has been particularly strong among organisations in the financial services and telecoms sectors in Kenya, but that other industries, such as retail, healthcare and education have also shown a healthy interest.

“Chatbots can be deployed across any industry where a company wants to offer comprehensive customer support. Modern consumers want to ‘buy’ into experiences. Chatbots can assist organisations to deliver personalised experiences by making conversations relevant, interactive and engaging,” he says.

Muhia explains that companies that are seeking to deploy a chatbot solution should look for an enterprise vendor that offers a customisable chatbot platform, offers good customer support and provides a solution that is innovative, with intelligent elements such as NLP.

 “The key is that the solution is customisable, offers a programmable platform that can scale as the organisation requires, and can be fitted across any vertical. These days, chatbot solutions tend to be very robust and easy to use. Anyone can create a chatbot, without necessarily having IT or technical expertise, but it is best to team up with an experienced partner that can provide a flexible and scalable solution,” he concludes.

Tanzanian superstar Diamond Platnumz has set another record by being the first artist in sub-Saharan Africa to hit more than 1 billion views on online video-sharing platform YouTube .

Diamond who enjoys over 3 million subscribers on his you tube channel celebrated the milestone by holding a small party at his mansion in Daresalaam.

A statement from his label WCB reads '“This was not an easy thing to achieve. Billion! Thanks to the fans. Congratulations to the boss on achieving that."

On his part, the Jeje hitmaker his journey has not been easy having faced several challenges 'I have gone through several challenges' said Diamond in a short video shared online.

His mother Mama Dangote was among those who congratulated him for this by posting his picture on instagram and captioned it 'MZEE WA ONE BILLION''.

http://ommydalla.co.ke/buzz/item/1577-diamond-platnumz-shines-on-billboard

The Natasha Hand of Compassion Team led by Rev. Natasha this week showered the healthcare workers with gifts and food packs for the works they are doing to save humanity during these trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Team showed them love and kindness through gift baskets and food packs in honor of their works.

“We care deeply about the nurses and health workers and we would like to express our gratitude for their commitment in treating patients, dealing with the Covid 19 and continuing normal essential health services to all." “These workers are our warriors fighting every hour of the day to save our loved ones and to keep the rest of us safe and healthy.” Said Rev. Natasha

The Natasha team is proud to recognize all those providing critical services to communities such as nurses who are in the front line in dealing with all health issues among the old and young.

Nurses and health professionals have demonstrated compassion for all and put the needs of others before them, by going the extra mile, extending working hours, being on call 24-7   while serving the patients with utmost professionalism.

The Natasha Hand of compassion have been at the forefront of helping out during these periods through providing foodstuffs for the less privileged and the most vulnerable in the slum areas.

As the Natasha Hand of Compassion team continues with its Project Appreciate 1000 Health Care Workers, they remain humbled by the gratitude the nurses showed, we are motivated to continue lighting that spark of appreciation in their hearts.

A court in Mombasa has temporarily stopped the ongoing recruitment for the new Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Managing Director pending the hearing and determination of an application filed by a Mombasa based lobby group.

The Commission for Human Rights and Justice had filed a petition seeking to stop the exercise until a new board of directors is constituted to oversee the process.

The lobby through it's Executive Director Julius Ogogoh argues that the board as constituted cannot be trusted to recruit another MD questioning it's  integrity as it failed to act tame corruption at the parastatal.

In his orders Justice James Rika said ''Pending hearing and determination of the application filed by the petitioner inter parties, the respondents are barred from conducting interviews for the position of Managing Director KPA''

Adding'' In the interim, the court agrees that the KPA is not hampered in its operations by keeping the position vacant until the hearing inter parties. There is an acting Managing Director who in the admission of the respondents has a mandate of up to September 2020. The KPA has a General Managers for its various departments and would certainly not come to a standstill if the interim order of injunction issued'.

The judge also ordered the Dock workers union joins the petition as an interested party.

The case will be mentioned on 17th June 2020.

Earlier, Ogogoh had written to the KPA board chairman Joseph Kibwana seeking publication in the press of the list of all the applicants for the position.

http://ommydalla.co.ke/people/item/1503-kpa-md-job-attracts-10-mohammed-ali-calls-for-free-and-fair-process

Nigerian producer Young D. and Grammy Winner Miri Ben-Ari, better known as AfroStringz launch their first single “She Don’t Know“ , a blend of Afrobeat with AfroStringz unique sound.

Bringing together two worlds of music, AfroStringz is a fusion of African music with strings sound, a multicultural entertainment experience that is unique, different and powerful. 

It’s about the girl next door and a boy that secretly developed a crush on her, but “She Don’t Know” about his special feelings for her.

Its music video captures moments of secret love between five people who hang out in the NY dance studio. The music video cameos are played by dancer Royal Gale, DJ Buka and music artist Nestreya.

“She Don’t Know” on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CjfieG_qThs

 Stream/Buy: https://lnk.to/Afrostringz

Speaking on their unique sound and release, Afrostringz say, “We are the first artist group to combine African music and violin as a "sound'. It is a powerful multicultural experience, whether in the studio or live performance, that has no limits. This is the power of music. AfroStringz represents a philosophy - mixing the rhythm of Africa with the sound of Stringz to create harmony through music and bridge between communities.”

AfroStringz will be releasing more original productions and remixes, including an upcoming collaboration with rap artist Fetty Wap.

The new single, “She Don’t Know” is the premiere single off their Afrostringz EP scheduled for release in 2021. Afro stands for renowned African producer "The Beat Boss" Young D from Nigeria while Stringz stands for Grammy-Award winning violinist/producer Miri Ben-Ari, originally from Israel. 

Afrostringz began when Young D. reached out to Miri after seeing her captivating violin feature on Diamond Platnumz’s crossover song “Baila”.

Miri, who was familiar with Young D.’s production for the song “Bom bom”(Timaya ft Sean Paul), met Young D. in the music studio to collaborate on a few songs.

The two quickly realized they have created a unique product and sound. 

The group is promoting African music in America and has performed for the United Nations ambassadors and at the African Entertainment Awards USA.

Kenyan songbird and former Tv personality Sheila Mwanyigah 'Nikki' is back with a new song.

The former NTV presenter has just released a new love song titled 'Pole Pole' after being out of the music scene for some years.

Taking to instagram, Sheila noted ''“Best. Birthday. Ever.?? Thank you for all the love and happy wishes.”

Adding ''“Thank you for all the love and support you’ve shown me. I’m truly grateful and humbled! I’m counting the minutes to share my first love with you, and it’s such a joy to know you’ve been waiting and rooting for Ms.Nikki.”

The sultry singer has ruled the airwaves before with some of her hit songs including 'Niwe Wako milele', 'Hii Ngoma' ft Collo, and 'Mapenzi Tele'.

The song has been written by Xenia Manasseh and is available on itunes and other digital platforms.

Bongo Flava crooner Alikiba has finally made good on his promise to fans.

The singer had promised his fans that he will quench their thirst with a new song immediately after Ramadhan and true to his words, he has just released a new song.

"Tuna makubaliano mazuri kwenye uongozi na mimi ndiyo C.E.O, lazima watu wawe na muamko mzuri kwa sababu watu wamenimiss, nawaambia mashabiki zangu kwamba mwezi wa Ramadhan ukiisha, kuna ngoma ya ajabu sana inakuja, nawaambia ukweli maana sijawahi kusema hivi" said Alikiba in one of his previous media interviews 

The song titled 'So Hot' has been produced by Tanzanian producer Kimambo and video shot in Zanzibar.

Watch the video below

Sony/ATV Music Publishing South Africa announced it has named Munyaradzi Chanetsa (Munya) A&R Manager, Africa.

The appointment took effect on June 1

In this role, Munyaradzi will be responsible for finding new talent throughout the continent, promoting songwriters’ copyright and careers, and connecting them to larger opportunities around the world.

He will also work closely with colleagues to pitch new and existing repertoire into the marketplace.

Munyaradzi is a prominent music executive in South Africa and throughout the continent.

With his A&R and licensing experience spanning over ten years, he has engaged mobile and online platforms, independent record labels, artists and music publishers.

He has also been a featured presenter on music copyright at leading forums in South Africa, Angola, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

Rowlin Naicker, Managing Director of Sony/ATV South Africa said, “I have worked with Munya previously and I have no doubt we have a person here who brings with him dedication, passion and experience, which is key as we expand our publishing business across the continent. We are excited to work with him to achieve our goals.”

“Munya is a creative talent with vast experience and a perfect fit for our company and its creative ambitions. With Munya’s position in the creative community both in South Africa and across the African continent he will be a great addition to our global team.” said Guy Henderson, Sony/ATV President, International.

Munyaradzi said, “I am joining a great team of talented people who share my passion, and I just cannot wait to see what we can all achieve together.”

He joins Sony/ATV SA from CAPASSO (Composers, Authors, Publishers Association of SA) where he served as Head of Licensing.

Prior to that, Munyaradzi was Head of Operations at Content Connect Africa whilst also assuming the role of Managing Director of Content Connect Ghana and Content Connect International.

Earlier in his career, he was Head of Marketing & Promotions for Putumayo World Music in South Africa, which is based in New York.

About Sony/ATV Music Publishing:

Sony/ATV Music Publishing is the #1 global music publisher, which is home to world-class songwriters, legendary catalogs, and industry-leading synchronization licensing and production music businesses.

With an international network of 38 offices, Sony/ATV represents many of the most iconic songs ever written by celebrated songwriters such as The Beatles, Bob. Dylan, Michael Jackson, Carole King, Queen, The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder, as well as contemporary superstars such as Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Pharrell Williams, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, P!nk, and Sam Smith.

Sony/ATV South African songwriters include Hugh Masekela, Abdullah Ibrahim, Brenda Fassie, Mdu, DJ Maphorisa, Samthing Soweto, E Kelly, Freshlyground, Mafikizolo, Mi Casa, Bongeziwe Mabandla, Beatenberg, Celebration, JR, D’Banj, Matthew Mole, Busiswa, Moonchild and Oskido.