ANY government that sustains effective two-way communication process between itself and many other stakeholders; and in the process addresses the needs and expectations of such stakeholders; especially with the general populace can comfortably rule a country for many years to come.
John Cole Morgan in ‘The Practice of Public Relations’(Sam Black eds; 1994:60) argues that the operation of democracy is dependent upon a regular two-way flow of information between governors and the governed.
Morgan states that the traditional contact between government and its citizens can no longer be only through parliament. Morgan states that government and (government) ministers have direct contact with the mass media such as radio, television and newspapers (ibid). This is why, in Zambia, government has information and broadcasting ministry whose minister is also chief government spokesperson to promote two-way communication process between the government and its stakeholders.
This is because Morgan argues that there is little point of passing a law or a policy; or providing a service which no one is aware of(Ibid)!
In the past; and to some extent even now, in Zambia one of the critical issues that have affected the image of government is in the release of development funds such as Community Development Fund (CDF) and those funds for climate change adaptation (CCA) to the local communities.
Except for few constituencies such as Kabwata and few others, little or nothing has been known about when funds are allocated to a local community; how much; and when such funds are released to respective local communities for development projects to take off.
Because of such poor community relations by some government related departments such as local authorities and parliament; and also among some civil society organisations, not until the PF government was ushered into power, little was known about what government was doing to improve on the living standards of its citizens in most parts of the country. Even now, little is known about how much funds have been received and allocated for local communities for CCA related programmes and projects!
It is against this background that Kim Harrison (2008:660) in ‘Strategic Public Relations’ states that governments seek to reach the voters and the rest of the populations largely through the mass media to communicate their policies, build up and maintain their groundswell of support sufficient for re-election.
This is because there is always need for government to increase its public information on what it is doing in local communities to address such concerns.
Therefore, a government that doesn’t maintain an effective two-way communication with its stakeholders risks facing great challenges in political campaigns during elections’ time. Being proactive, through effective two-way communication process, is effective PR.
Consequently, it appears PF government is arming itself with effective two-way communication process with its stakeholders.
And government’s efforts to build some capacity in Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) to gather development related information from almost all parts of the country is a good effort to enhance effective communication process between the government and its publics.
But Harrison states that government increased public relations (PR) with the electorate is in response to public expectations from their government (ibid).
Harrison’s remarks on increased government PR as a response to public expectations from government is a timely warning to the PF government to differentiates propaganda from professional PR in its efforts to increase public information from government to the citizenry.
Professional PR is a two-way communication process; and not one way. Each communication is a reaction of what the other group has said or to what has happened. Therefore, government communication to the citizenry is not only about the policies and the laws the government has put in place or what it wants citizens to do; but is also about what the same government is doing to address the concerns of the electorate; and or to what extent such concerns have been addressed.
What ZANIS and other public media institutions are doing to show or prove what the government is doing in response to what stakeholders want as far as development is concerned is a good case in point.
Informing the public about the roads, bridges, schools, health centres, colleges and universities the government is constructing in different and many parts of the country is prove that government is responding favourably to the needs and expectations of the masses.
This further implies that the more the citizens and other stakeholders communicate with government or with their political representatives such as ward councilors and members of parliament (MPs) on what negatively and positively affect citizens; the more the government will be on its toes to respond favourably to such local communities’ challenges and opportunities where possible.
It is such an interaction and communication process between a government and its citizenry that makes democracy an exciting and beneficial political ideology to practice and to promote in a country because it leads to improved living standards of the majority citizens.
Therefore, to learn that President Edgar Lungu’s government has decided to be informing the masses on what their government is doing for its electorate every week is a great milestone in enhancing not only effective government PR but also in enhancing democracy in the country.
Such elements of government communication strategy also reminds one of the Presidential Facebook that former president, late Michael Sata (MHSRIP) had established.
One cannot conclude on how far such a Presidential Facebook benefited the citizens of this country in as far as two-way communication process was concerned on one hand; and how it facilitated addressing the needs and expectations of the citizenry on time on the other hand.
However, one can argue that, if such a tool is used effectively to the benefit of many citizens, it is an effective tool for increasing interaction with citizens. But will President Lungu sustain such a Presidential Face which his predecessor, late Sata established as a communication tool with electorate?
It is against this background that one can praise the PF government for initiating such strategic PR platforms where citizens and other governance and development related stakeholders can use to communicate with their government.
And this is expected to be highly beneficial to most citizens if government utilizes the observations and expectations citizens and other stakeholders make to government.
From such a background, it is hoped that the government will utilize its decision to inform the public of its weekly decision as a tool for responding and addressing public demands and expectations as it has already started through various public media such as ZANIS.
With such two-way communication strategy in place and well operationalised, the government is likely to increase and improve on its effective PR with many stakeholders. Except during the UNIP regime under Dr Kenneth Kaunda where public information was also relatively high, President Lungu and his team have introduced a rare and unusual; but effective communication innovation in Zambia’s governance system.
It is through effective two-way communication process that various stakeholders can express their needs, likes and dislikes to a government or an organisation concerned. As a government or an organisation addresses the needs and challenges of stakeholders, it also reduces on what the stakeholders don’t like about a government or about an organisation. And in the process, an a government or organisation concerned reduces on its own mistakes; thereby improving on its image in the eyes of many stakeholders.
But while this article has concentrated on how the PF government is increasing and improving on its effective PR, each organisation can draw some lessons from what the government is doing to improve on its PR with its stakeholders.
PR principles are the same both to public and private sector organisations! Apply some of the communication strategies which the government is using to enhance effective PR with your stakeholders. But don’t rely only on social media. Use as many tools of communication as possible to reach out to as many different stakeholders as possible.
The more an organisation promotes effective two-way communication process with its stakeholders; the more there is mutual understanding and mutual benefit between such an organisation and its publics.
With high mutual benefit between an organisation and its publics, an organisation derives enough support and goodwill from such a relationship. And high support and goodwill from stakeholders is a sound insurance policy or good reputation reservoir against catastrophic consequences during any possible crisis in such an organisation.
Therefore, to establish and develop effective PR with all stakeholders, enhance your two-way communication process between your organisation and its publics; and ensure that in the process, you are promoting mutual understanding and mutual benefits between your organisation and its publics.
This is what the PF government is trying to do. Are you doing so in your respective organisation?
The author is a Media and PR Trainer and Consultant. For comments and ideas, contact: Cell: 0967/0977 450151, E-mail:sycoraxtndhlovu@yahoo.co.uk