Government spending on media contracts has once again come under close examination, with Members of Parliament raising tough questions about a controversial advertising deal that has seen taxpayers lose millions.
At the center of this dispute is Broadcasting and Telecommunications Principal Secretary Stephen Isaboke, who admitted that the Government Advertising Agency (GAA) is paying Ksh9 million every week to a single local newspaper.
While the PS insists that the contract saves the state money, lawmakers argue that the deal reeks of irregularities and offers poor value to citizens.
When Isaboke appeared before the Committee on Information, Communication and Innovation, he found it difficult to convince MPs about the heavy weekly payments.
He explained that the Ksh9 million weekly payment was for the publication of the government’s MyGov pullout.
According to him, the contract was a cost-saving measure compared to the previous arrangement where the government spent Ksh24.5 million every week to publish MyGov across four newspapers.
He said the new deal represented a 63.26 percent reduction in spending, cutting annual costs from Ksh1.19 billion to Ksh432 million, a difference of Ksh758 million.
However, lawmakers remained skeptical. They argued that the math did not add up. By dividing the Ksh24.5 million across four newspapers, MPs pointed out that each paper cost about Ksh6.1 million per week, which is still lower than the current Ksh9 million being paid to one newspaper.
Mbooni MP Erastus Kivasu questioned the logic behind the so-called savings, saying that previously, MyGov appeared in four newspapers and therefore reached a wider audience.
In his view, the new contract reduced the reach of government information while increasing the burden on taxpayers.
Concerns about circulation figures dominated the discussions. Lawmakers doubted whether Kenyans were truly getting value from the deal, especially since the circulation of the contracted newspaper has been falling.
Committee chair John Kiarie pressed the PS on how GAA verified circulation numbers. Isaboke responded that the agency relied on signed and stamped delivery lists provided by the Postal Corporation of Kenya and a private company.
This admission drew criticism, with MPs saying such a system was outdated, prone to manipulation, and impossible to verify independently.Kiarie further warned that trusting figures provided by the very newspaper receiving the money was risky.
He argued that the publication could easily inflate or underreport circulation numbers to suit its interests. MPs stressed that it was time for GAA to adopt digital monitoring systems to track distribution in real time.
They insisted that without digital oversight and transparent audits, taxpayers’ money would continue to be wasted.Beyond the heated exchanges, MPs emphasized that the issue was not just about numbers but about accountability.
They warned that weak systems and poorly structured contracts within GAA exposed billions in government advertising funds to misuse.
For ordinary Kenyans, the matter raises concerns about whether public money is being spent responsibly to inform citizens or simply to benefit private entities with connections.
The committee has now called for reforms, including setting up a clear monitoring and evaluation framework for government advertising contracts. Until such reforms are implemented, lawmakers say that every shilling spent by GAA will remain questionable.
With Ksh9 million leaving government coffers every week, the issue has become a powerful symbol of the urgent need for accountability in the use of public resources.
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