Government spokespeople have a crucial role to play in facilitating communication

Last week the ran a hard hitting-editorial (“State’s empty-headed PR” about the role of government communicators, many of whom are failing spectacularly as the face and voice of the government.I have been teaching a week-long course on government communications and leadership at Rhodes University’s Sol Plaatje Media Leadership Institute for a decade.

Therefore, it came as no surprise when some government spokespeople resorted to defensive mode, instead of dealing with the issues raised. Perhaps it’s time for government communicators to re-examine their job descriptions and key performance areas. Over the years many journalists, editors, media trainers and lecturers have offered free lessons through their columns but it seems that the intended targets are either dismissive or have not read these columns.

Here are some of the burning questions that require honest answers rather than a cacophony of noise. Since the 2016 local government elections and the 2019 national elections, how many spokespeople have visited newsrooms as part of stakeholder relations? How many media statements have they churned out?

How often do communicators from national engage with those from provincial and local government spheres? Instead of building relations, those from national departments often parachute into both provincial and local government and completely disregard their colleagues. I have witnessed this trend, as have many communicators in local government.

..who's the government spokesperson

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