Members of Parliament are pressing the Government Advertising Agency (GAA) to overhaul its monitoring systems, accusing the body of relying on outdated methods to justify multimillion-shilling advertising deals.

“How do we ensure there is a more digitized measure to track circulation? It is not right to rely on the Star — your client — to tell you how many copies they print,” Kiarie said.

The GAA has been under scrutiny since the government consolidated its weekly MyGov pullout into a single newspaper, The Star, in a cost-cutting move. Principal Secretary for Broadcasting and Telecommunication Stephen Isaboke defended the contract, saying the state now pays a flat rate of KSh 9 million a week, down from KSh 24.5 million when four newspapers carried the insert. That represents a 63% saving, or KSh 758 million annually.

However, MPs questioned whether concentrating the government’s voice in one publication reduces reach despite the cost savings.

“You are saving while spending that amount on the Star only. Initially four newspapers carried MyGov and circulation was way higher. So you save at the expense of what?” asked Mbooni MP Erastus Kivasu (Wiper), a member of the committee.

The clash underscores growing tension over how the government communicates with citizens in an era where social media and digital platforms dominate. A new survey shows Kenyans are steadily drifting away from print, with readership slipping across nearly all major dailies. The Daily Nation remains the country’s most-read newspaper at 34%, down from 35% a year earlier, while The Standard dropped to 20%. Smaller titles posted even thinner margins.

While officials highlight fiscal discipline, lawmakers want a clearer framework that ties spending to verified impact. The committee directed the agency to craft new strategies that would modernize government advertising, including digitized monitoring systems, and position the GAA as “the biggest voice of government’s successes.”