Gagging by another name: How MPs voted to deny media houses Sh826 million in pending bills

WhatsApp Image 2025-04-22 at 07.39.48 (1)

Correspondent

Nation Media Group

In a move that could cripple the operations of the media houses ahead of the August 2027 general elections, the National Assembly, in one fell swoop, rejected the National Treasury proposal to allocate Sh826 million towards the settlement of historical pending bills to the media industry.

The National Treasury had made the proposal to allocate the Government Advertising Agency (GAA), which is in charge of government advertising, in an addendum to the supplementary estimates I for the fiscal year 2025/26 that was approved on Thursday last week by the National Assembly.

However, the National Assembly committee on Communication, Information and Innovation, chaired by Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie, pulled the plug during the consideration of the estimates, effectively denying the media their rightful share for the services rendered to the State.

As it did so in a report that was adopted by the committee on Budget and Appropriations (BAC) and subsequently adopted by the House, the Kiarie-led committee demanded “a more transparent, audited process for the settlement of the pending bills” due to the media industry.

“There is a proposed increase of Sh866 million on account of settlement of pending bills. There is a need to establish the amount that has been verified by the committee on pending bills so far verified for payment by the National Treasury,” the committee said as it took away what was due for the media.

Read: Ali Velshi: From Kenya to top global broadcaster making sense of complex world

The committee went on to fault the National Treasury for using supplementary estimates to settle pending bills, noting that it is not an unforeseen expenditure or an emergency to warrant the mini budget.

“Continued settlement of pending bills through supplementary estimates poses risks of duplication, crowding out of critical programmes and payment of unverified claims,” the committee said.

The key beneficiaries of the blocked payments include Nation Media Group (NMG), Sh411 million, Standard Group Sh229 million, Mediamax Sh191 million, and Kenya Yearbook Editorial Board Sh19.5 million.

The unpaid bills place a huge pressure on the media firms, which has led to numerous layoffs, with the government also losing out on the projected income tax earnings.

Some media companies have also issued warnings about their potential collapse as they implored the government to honour its part of the bargain.

The committee also noted that “the current government advertising model is inefficient and lacks a robust monitoring and evaluation framework, thereby undermining value for public money.

Instead, the committee went on to allocate Sh30.8 million from the media pending bills budget towards the purchase of vehicles for the State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications, which “faces significant transport constraints.”

The constraints, according to the committee, include inadequate vehicles and limited travel allocations, which hinder the effective execution of departmental mandates.

She noted that the media is a constitutional pillar of democracy and therefore denying media houses their rightful dues amounts to a systematic weakening of “this pillar and exposes the sector to increased vulnerability, including potential editorial compromise.”

The High Court was unequivocal in affirming that administrative actions that undermine fair access to government advertising or discriminate against sections of the media violate both the law and the constitution.

According to Ms Kananu, “it is therefore deeply concerning that, even after this landmark ruling, the media sector continues to suffer financial prejudice through delayed and now effectively denied payments for services duly rendered.”

At a time when newsrooms are already grappling with shrinking revenues, layoffs, and rising operational costs, this decision exacerbates an already fragile situation,” the KEG boss added.

Currently, many media houses are burdened by significant arrears, which directly affect their ability to sustain operations, pay staff, and invest in quality journalism.

This has far-reaching implications, not just for the industry, but for the public’s right to information, said Ms Kananu.

The MPs also blocked an allocation of Sh31 million meant for the modernisation of the dilapidated and underfunded Kenya News Agency (KNA) national desk and the press centre.

The MPs noted persistent underperformance in Appropriation-in-Aid (AiA) collection by the GAA, largely due to failure by the government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to remit advertising fees despite budgetary provisions.

“Weak recovery mechanisms have further contributed to the underperformance, leading to a downward revision of projected AIA by Sh300 million,” the committee said.

The committee observed that several projects within the State Department risk stalling due to a lack of funding or delayed disbursements by the National Treasury.

They include the construction of the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC) Eldoret Campus Phase I, which last received funding in the fiscal year 2021/22, and the procurement of an Outside Broadcasting Van for the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), which last received funding in the period 2023/24.

The committee observed that implementation of approved Human Resource (HR) instruments at KIMC has not been effected despite approval by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and commitment by the National Treasury to provide Sh31 million in the fiscal year 2025/26 supplementary estimates.

Further, the committee noted that the evolving media landscape, driven by emerging technologies, requires enhanced regulatory capacity.

This as it vouched for the need to support initiatives “such as Artificial Intelligence-driven media monitoring systems to detect misinformation, disinformation and radicalization trends, as well as to operationalize completed media hubs in Siaya, Nakuru, and Meru.”

The Kenya Yearbook Editorial Board, also starved of funding, faces operational constraints due to inadequate technical personnel and equipment, including printing capacity, leading to reliance on costly outsourcing.

“Enhanced resourcing would improve efficiency, revenue generation, and reduce dependence on the exchequer.”

Gagging by another name: How MPs voted to deny media houses Sh826 million in pending bills

In the headlines

Dutchman, Kenyan woman clash over Sh2.2m ‘love’ gift ends in court

Court saves taxpayers Sh120bn in Moi-era supplier claim

Why tap water is turning green in homes around Lake Victoria

PREMIUM Kenya’s foreign missions are falling apart

PREMIUM 'I never felt alone': Comedian Sammy Kioko after brutal Machakos assault

PREMIUM Dutchman, Kenyan woman clash over Sh2.2m ‘love’ gift ends in court

PREMIUM Court saves taxpayers Sh120bn in Moi-era supplier claim

PREMIUM Why tap water is turning green in homes around Lake Victoria

Kenya’s foreign missions are falling apart

'I never felt alone': Comedian Sammy Kioko after brutal Machakos assault

Dutchman, Kenyan woman clash over Sh2.2m ‘love’ gift ends in court

Court saves taxpayers Sh120bn in Moi-era supplier claim

Why tap water is turning green in homes around Lake Victoria