Betty Kyalo and Jalang’o: Popular TV presenter Betty Kyalo and radio presenter Jalang’o are the latest media personalities to suffer salary cuts.
Betty Kyalo and Jalang’o who are reported to earn six figure salaries at MediaMax are among employees at MediaMax who will take pay cuts of up to fifty per cent. Emerging reports say that the media house which is co-owned by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto has already issued a notice reducing staff salaries by up to 50 per cent.
Is Jeff Koinange broke? Here’s his salary and earnings
“We have come up with several measures to ensure that we try to sustain and ensure that the business at this stage survives and sustains itself,” Mediamax acting Chief Executive Officer Ken Ngaruiya told employees in a circular dated April 17. “Amongst the proposed measures that will directly apply to employees will be a reduction of between 20 per cent and 50 per cent on Gross Monthly Pay based on job levels effective April 2020.”
The media house has attributed the looming pay cuts to the effects of the coronavirus scourge. “Our clients have been adversely affected and within a short span of time have had to make difficult decisions regarding their employees and their businesses including cancellation of their communication and advertising plans,” Mr. Ngaruiya said.
The move comes a few weeks after Radio Africa Group effected pay cuts that of up to 20 per cent. The salary cuts were first effected at Citizen Tv where Jeff Koinange and Linus Kaikai work. Koinange reportedly takes home a monthly salary of Sh. 2 million. Koinange, Kaikai, and Joe Ageyo’s salaries have reportedly been slashed by 30 per cent.
However, reports also say that media houses in Kenya are taking advantage of the pandemic to cut down on huge salaries. This is because news consumption, especially TV content consumption has reportedly spiked.