FACING A COMMUNICATION DILEMMA

Oct 26, 2015 Editorial

The government of Guyana has been failing to communicate its ideas to the people, which the Prime Minister and Minister of Information Moses Nagamootoo has admitted is a communication dilemma. The government will continue to lose the public relations battle to the PPP if it does not recruit a more effective communication team to distil and counter, with facts, the erroneous information that is being dispersed daily in the public domain by the PPP.
While some are dismissive of the PPP’s attempt to spread skepticism among members of the public, others are beginning to see the government in a negative light.
Based on recent observations, the government communication functions are being poorly handled at Gina, NCN and the Guyana Chronicle and at the Department of Public Communication. Its communication team has not responded either by letter or public statements to most of the false accusations made against the government by its opponents. Meanwhile, the environment has been completely transformed by the expansion of the print and social media, which allows people near and far to praise or criticize the government.
In Guyana, economic and social conditions are increasingly difficult as public frustration continues to mount against the political leadership which seems oblivious to the realities of the people. Since assuming office in May, many in the Cabinet have become arrogant and aloof, others are mostly stuck in the 1960s era and have separated themselves from the masses who have voted for change.
For the past few months, the government through its auditing and Asset Recovery processes, has made several public statements about hundreds of millions of dollars in massive fraud and corrupt practices by the last government, yet it has only charged a former minister and her assistant. Also, the people have not received justice for the transfer of G$27 million of GPL funds into the bank account of the former PPP appointed deputy CEO of GPL or for the G$942,000 illegally taken as back-pay by a GPL Board member.
In order to win the public relations battle against its opponents, the government has to reassess the skills of its communication team and address the challenges facing the nation. It is clear that the government’s media team is inadequate, incoherent, and uncompetitive and has not advanced the core functions and objectives of the government’s programmes. They have taken a hands off approach or what is known as the avoidance path which is a disservice to the government.
Furthermore, the nation is becoming increasingly distrustful of the government’s motives and is dismissive of public information since the huge pay increase.
The disaster around the pay increase is just one of many manifestations that have gone wrong because it was not thoughtfully and carefully planned. For the government to underestimate the resolve of the people and to ignore its supporters who supported the coalition during the election is a grave mistake.
This is made worse by the absence of towering and respected authority figures, untainted by their own interest and who cannot be taken at their word. At the moment, there is a tremendous trust deficit which makes governing the country more difficult.
There are three key things riding against the government. First, it has lost the public relations battle because of its failure to embrace and ground with the people. Second, the huge salary increase is being viewed negatively by the masses. And third, the government is very slow in providing jobs to its supporters, especially the youths, who are less likely to vote in the next election. Some members of the Cabinet have stated that they were not elected to provide jobs for anyone. However, a government that does not adopt the patronage system is less likely to get re-elected.
At the end of the day it is credibility that counts.
The people are losing patience, which could lead to social discontent and the melting down of the country’s economy could result in significant reduction of capital inflows. However, the powers that be must acknowledge that they have not communicated well with the people or have not grounded with them, hence the lack of trust in the government.

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