President William Ruto's administration has continued filtering advertising shillings flowing into local media houses after awarding an exclusive contract to Convergence Media, which publishes The Star newspaper, to distribute the MyGov pullout.
MyGov, according to the Ministry of ICT, is not only the official government medium for all public sector print advertisements but also a mouthpiece for propagating its development agenda.
The new contract is especially punitive to other national newspapers among them Daily Nation, The Standard and People Daily which have been reeling under diminished advertising revenue.
ICT Principal Secretary Edward Kisiang'ani, in a letter addressed to all PSs, CEOs and public universities dated January 23, explained that Convergence Media won the contract through a competitive process.
The Star will, therefore, exclusively distribute the pullout, a departure from the industry norm that accorded all four national newspapers the chance to share in the revenue.
"Up until recently, MyGov was regularly printed and circulated by the four daily newspapers, namely: Daily Nation, The Standard, The Star and the People Daily. This was done under a contractual arrangement signed between the media houses and this State Department. The contracts expired in December 2023," read the circular in part.
"Prior to the expiry of the contracts, the Ministry floated a new tender for public sector advertisement. After presenting the lowest and most sustainable bid, Convergence Media (publishers of The Star newspaper) won the tender to take up the new contract."
Kisiang'ani further noted that the contract will be in place for two years after which other institutions will be invited to place their bids.
"The terms of this contract restrict print advertisements emanating from all public institutions, save for the counties, to MyGov," he added.
"Any requests for exemptions to publish advertisements outside MyGov, on a day other than Tuesday (when MyGov is published), will be directed to the Star newspaper upon authorization by this office."
The PS, as a result, directed all state ministries and parastatals to ensure that they forward planned advertisements to the Director of the Government Advertising Agency (GAA) by Friday of every week.
In recent years, the government has been at loggerheads with mainstream media houses over billions reportedly owed to them by the state.
Reports allege that the Nation Media Group is owed an excess of Ksh900 million for advertising services it rendered to the government.
ICT CS Eliud Owalo, however, announced in December last year that his Ministry is committed to settling a debt of Ksh1.2 billion owed to the media outlets.
"We empathise with the economic challenges confronting media workers. To the media professionals enduring these challenges, I want you to know that we feel your pain and commend your dedication to the profession amid these difficulties. Your contributions are instrumental in shaping our nation's development and despite the challenges, there is hope on the horizon," stated Owalo at a meeting with media editors.
The state first converged all government's print advertising needs to MyGov pull out in 2015.
Convergence Media
Questions are also rife about the parent company said to be managing The Star newspaper, raising speculations on new ownership.
Years back, The Star newspaper was cited as a sister media house to The Star digital website, and radio stations Classic 105, East FM, KISS 100, Radio Jambo and Homeboyz Radio, all managed by Radio Africa Group.
According to the latest MyGov deal, the contract with The Star newspaper was negotiated between the Government Advertising Agency and Convergence Media.
However, insiders at The Star told this reporter that Convergence Media is still part of Radio Africa Group.
