The National Assembly Committee on Information, Communication and Innovation has asked the Government Advertising Agency (GAA) to set up a proper monitoring and evaluation framework to justify value for money in its advertising deal with the Star Newspaper.
During a meeting with GAA, Committee Chairperson and Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie criticized the current system, describing it as outdated and unreliable. He urged the agency to adopt digital tools for tracking circulation.
“How do we ensure there is a more digitized measure to track circulation? You have said you use the post office to record, but it is now time to step up and go digital. It is also not right to rely on the Star Newspaper, whom you are their client, to tell you how many copies they circulate. They could say a hundred copies when they are fewer or more,” Kiarie said.
Principal Secretary for Broadcasting and Telecommunications Stephen Isaboke told MPs that compliance with the contract is tracked through delivery lists signed and stamped by the Postal Corporation of Kenya and Convergence Africa Media Ltd.
He added that the new contract with the Star costs Sh9 million per week, compared to Sh24.5 million weekly under the previous deal, saving Sh15.5 million weekly or 63.26 percent. “Overall, government was spending Sh1.19 billion versus Sh432 million currently, giving a saving of Sh758 million. Therefore, value for money is clearly demonstrated,” Isaboke said.
But members were not convinced. Mbooni MP Erastus Kivasu questioned how spending Sh9 million weekly on one newspaper was cheaper than spending Sh24.5 million on four newspapers before.
“You are saving while spending that amount on the Star Newspaper only. Initially, four newspapers would carry MyGov, and circulation was way higher compared to now. So you save at the expense of what?” he asked.
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