{"id":121151,"date":"2025-09-10T08:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T08:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/09\/10\/mps-clash-with-ps-isaboke-over-sh500m-mygov-advertising-expenditure\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T08:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T08:06:08","slug":"mps-clash-with-ps-isaboke-over-sh500m-mygov-advertising-expenditure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/mps-clash-with-ps-isaboke-over-sh500m-mygov-advertising-expenditure\/","title":{"rendered":"MPs Clash with PS Isaboke Over Sh500m MyGov Advertising Expenditure"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 10- A parliamentary watchdog has accused the State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications of mismanaging more than Sh500 million allocated for the printing, distribution, and advertising of the MyGov pullout in leading newspapers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The National Assembly\u2019s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Butere MP Tindi Mwale, raised concerns that taxpayers may not have received value for money from payments flagged in the Auditor-General\u2019s report for the year ending June 2023.<\/p>\n

The report cited Sh495.3 million paid by the Government Advertising Agency (GAA) to four newspapers for printing and inserting MyGov.<\/p>\n

However, the Auditor-General observed that revenue generated from advertisements failed to fully offset the payments, concluding that \u201cvalue for money could not be confirmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

PAC members also questioned whether circulation figures were verifiable, with the GAA repeatedly failing to provide clear data on how many copies were printed, distributed, or returned.<\/p>\n

Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe singled out The People Daily, alleging it continued to receive payments even after ceasing print operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe State department claims to have paid for printing and distribution, yet some newspapers, like People Daily, had already stopped printing. This is outright theft of public funds,\u201d Kagombe stated.<\/p>\n

Principal Secretary for Broadcasting and Telecommunications Stephen Isaboke, appearing before the committee for the first time since his appointment four months ago, defended the agency. He insisted the transactions were legitimate and related to a period when People Daily was still operational and under contract.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically, government expenditure on advertising was much higher. The GAA was established to bring efficiency. While the system is still on a learning curve, the intention is to deliver services more effectively,\u201d Isaboke said.<\/p>\n

He admitted that advertising revenue fell short of projectionsSh441 million against a forecast of Sh1 billion blaming delays in payments by ministries and agencies.<\/p>\n

Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo pressed the PS to provide documentary proof comparing advertising costs before and after the GAA\u2019s establishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf indeed costs are lower, table a threeyear comparative analysis before and after GAA. Only then can we determine value for money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Samburu West MP Naisula Lesuuda questioned whether some media houses were being sidelined.<\/p>\n

Isaboke dismissed the claims saying government has no policy of discriminating against any media house.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny outlet meeting procurement rules is eligible,\u201dhe said.<\/p>\n

But MPs insisted on verifiable data on the matter to authenticate his assertions.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan the PS show how many copies were printed, how many distributed, how many returned, and who verified these figures? Without such proof, how do we know publishers didn\u2019t just print a single copy?\u201d Kagombe asked.<\/p>\n

Turkana Central MP Emathe Namuar accused the GAA of overspending and operating outside Treasury allocations. He urged a shift from costly print adverts to digital platforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy doesn\u2019t the agency spend within its budget? Otherwise, this appears to be another window for looting,\u201d Namuar said.<\/p>\n

Isaboke responded that while digital advertising was the future, the law still requires certain notices to appear in print.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would welcome a review to allow hybrid digital and print publication,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

PAC directed the State Department to table within two weeks a detailed report on circulation data, revenue projections, and expenditure verification mechanisms.<\/p>\n

Mwale reminded the PS that the issue under review was not just budgeting but whether taxpayers received value for money.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 10- A parliamentary watchdog has accused the State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications of mismanaging more than Sh500 million allocated for the printing, distribution, and advertising of the MyGov pullout in leading newspapers. The National Assembly\u2019s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Butere MP Tindi Mwale, raised concerns that taxpayers may not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121151\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}