GCIS
Providing and facilitating strategic government communication
Coordinating communication across government
Facilitating active citizen participation
Government Communication and Information System
The GCIS was officially launched in May 1998. It was established in terms of Section 7 (Subsection 2 and 3) of the Public Service Act, 1994 (Act 103 of 1994), as amended. It was transferred from the then Department of Communications to The Presidency with effect from 1 April 2020. The mandate of the GCIS is derived from Section 195(g) of the Constitution, which stipulates that South African citizens should be provided with information that is timely, accurate and accessible. This is in support of the constitutional principles of freedom of expression, transparency and openness of government.
The GCIS is responsible for providing strategic leadership and coordinating government communication to ensure that the people of South Africa are informed and have access to government programmes and policies that benefit them. It facilitates the involvement of South Africans in governance, reconstruction and development, nation building and reconciliation.
The NDP emphasises the need to unite all South Africans around a common goal, ensure citizens are active in their own development, and build a capable and developmental state. This is given expression by Priority 6 (building a capable, ethical and developmental state) of government’s 2019-2024 MTSF, with which the work of the GCIS is aligned.
The GCIS:
- provides professional services;
- sets and influences adherence to standards for an effective government communication system;
- drives coherent government messaging; and
- proactively communicates with the public about government policies, plans, programmes and achievements.
The Director-General (DG) of the GCIS is also the official Spokesperson for government. He/she chairs the GCIS Executive Committee – a strategising body that integrates, coordinates and rationalises the work of the department and government communication. To expand its reach to more South Africans, the GCIS aims to harness and coordinate various communication structures across the government communication system over the medium term.
Essential to doing this economically is joint planning, the sharing of resources and the integration of efforts among government departments. Vuk’uzenzele newspaper, which is distributed digitally countrywide, is the only national publication focused on government’s key priorities, with an emphasis on service delivery programmes and opportunities created by government.
Over the period ahead, the department will focus on providing and facilitating strategic government communication, coordinating communication across government, and facilitating active citizen participation. The department has a total budget of R2.3 billion, increasing at an average annual rate of 2,6%, from R743.5 million in 2023/24 to R802.8 million in 2026/27. As the department’s work is mostly dependent on personnel, spending on compensation of employees accounts for an estimated 39,5% (R925.2 million) of its budget over the MTEF period, while transfers to entities account for an estimated 32,3% (R735.1 million).
Providing and facilitating strategic government communication
The department aims to meet citizens’ information needs through advertising government programmes, communicating government priorities and providing civic education. This will be achieved through using various media platforms, including community radio stations, social media, television, newspapers, and leaflets and flyers.
Key messages and information to be disseminated on these platforms include: the 2024 Presidential Inauguration, government’s economic reconstruction and recovery plan, anti-corruption initiatives, awareness of gender-based violence, and civic education.
These activities have an allocation of R73.2 million over the medium term in the Content Processing and Dissemination programme. Although the Vuk’uzenzele newspaper has been an effective means of communicating and providing citizens with information on government’s key priorities, as media consumption patterns have shifted towards digital platforms, from 2024/25, the newspaper will be produced and distributed only digitally (22 editions per year).
However, 13 200 Braille copies will still be produced at a projected cost of R1.6 million per year over the medium term. Digital distribution is expected not only to reduce costs, but also increase reach, with an emphasis on photography and audio-visual content creation.
In addition, the department plans to repurpose R14 million of Vuk’uzenzele’s budget over the MTEF period to fund an over-the-top streaming service, which is expected to contain content previously disseminated through the newspaper, as well as other government content. This expenditure is also in the Content Processing and Dissemination programme.
The department’s social media platforms will be updated regularly to ensure that they effectively share government content. The intention is to create awareness about the challenges facing the country, provide information on how government plans to mitigate them, and suggest ways in which citizens can play a part in resolving them.
This will be carried out at an estimated cost of R2.9 million per year over the MTEF period in the Products and Platforms subprogramme in the Content Processing and Dissemination programme.
Coordinating communication across government
Over the next three years, the department aims to focus on ensuring effective and coordinated communication between government departments. As such, it will provide support to all government departments in conceptualising campaigns, developing communication strategies and content, and facilitating the dissemination of information and stakeholder engagement. Support for the DDM, which aims to improve coherence among all spheres of government, as well as the 44 districts and eight metros across the country, will be reinforced in an effort to enhance service delivery.
The department’s footprint at provincial and municipal levels ensures the alignment and coherence of intergovernmental communication systems, processes and messages. This is driven through the coordination of communication forums across government to harmonise the planning of communication campaigns, the alignment of government communication norms and standards, the sharing of best practices, the coherence of messaging, and engagement with domestic and international media. These activities are funded through the Intergovernmental Coordination and Stakeholder Management Branch, which is allocated R417.1 million over the medium term.
Facilitating active citizen participation
To encourage citizen participation, the GCIS aims to initiate outreach programmes such as localised community dialogues, community radio talk shows, and campaign activations in taxi ranks, shopping centres and commuter trains. A targeted 26 engagement sessions at the national level are planned with senior journalists and two engagements with government Heads of Communication, as well as forum meetings such as the Government Communicators’ Forum.
Through media engagements, briefings and infographics, the department intends to keep citizens updated on energy-generation initiatives to overcome the energy crisis. This will be carried out through the Media Engagement subprogramme, spending in which accounts for an estimated 12,7% (R53.4 million) of budget in the Intergovernmental Coordination and Stakeholder Management Branch over the medium term.
Source: South Africa Yearbook 2024/25
