Government expects its communicators to ensure that the voices of the poor and of those who are on the side of transformation are heard. Premier Thandi Moside said this at the Provincial Communication Lekgotla recently.
“As you are aware, the public discourse at the moment is dominated by the views, prejudice and perceptions of a powerful class that seeks to reverse the gains of our transformation agenda. Their opinions dominate the media and every available public platform. They use media platforms to advance and protect their material interests. In all these, the voices of the poor are marginalised.”
She urged communicators: “You must confront the dominant ideas head-on by engaging in the battle of ideas. We want ensure consistent and sustained communication of our messages beyond a few sound-bites. Our citizens deserve communication that will assist them to change their lives for the better.”
She said, “Our communication mandate is different from that of the apartheid communication machinery. We have a legitimate government that is based on the will of the people. We have a government that is supported by about 65% of the population. In every election, our people consistently demonstrate their confidence in the vision and capacity of our government to address their plight.
“This is a positive platform that communicators in a democratic dispensation must seize to communicate better and partner with our people. There is therefore no need for spin doctoring or propaganda because our policies and programmes are clear and defensible on their own. We only need to communicate them better.”
She said that government needs communicators who are capable of explaining complex policy choices that confront government from time to time. “We need cadres with the honesty and courage to raise unpopular views in defence of our correct policies and programmes.”
She pointed out that government communicators have a responsibility to ensure that all people are aware of the opportunities and services that are meant to extricate them out of poverty.
“We need to amplify our communication relating to, among other things, the following; promotion of emerging and small businesses, expanded public works programme, emerging farmer support, preferential procurement programme, war on poverty programme and the rural development programme. The focus must be on empowering our people to access these services and opportunities.”
Premier Modise said that the sporadic eruption of community protests in some parts of the province and country require some reflection from a communication perspective. Some of the protests, she said, are a manifestation of a communication gap between the people and their democratic government.
“How does it happen that even in communities where government has delivered or launched development projects, some people still complain about lack of service delivery? Why is it that a perception of “lack of delivery” persists, despite overwhelming evidence that points towards significant progress in the area of service delivery?” she asked.
She said that communicators have a responsibility to confront these perceptions to ensure that an accurate picture of government performance emerges. “If we do not do anything to change public perceptions, then these negative perceptions will assume a life of their own and develop into “reality.”
“I am making all these points mindful of the fact that communicators are operating in a difficult communication environment where, among other things, the mainstream media in our country has generally defined its role as an opposition to our government. Despite this difficulty, I challenge you not to abandon this terrain, but ensure that your strategies are geared towards influencing the media agenda.”
Enquiries:
Cornelius Monama
Tel: 018 387 3456
Cell: 082 578 4063
Email: cmonama@nwpg.gov.za \ cmonama@gmail.com
“Be the voices of the poor,” Premier Modise tells communicators
Province
