Numerous communication debacles have not gone unnoticed since the swearing in of president William Ruto. The first fiasco was the diplomatic dilemma Kenya got embroiled in, the first few days of Ruto’s presidency. It essentially began with the president recognizing the presence of the president of Sahrawi Republic during the swearing in ceremony after which a visit by the Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita forced the government to rescind the decision and promising to wind up the visit by Sahrawi delegation. This information which was posted on twitter was later deleted and the government once again stood with their earlier decision of recognizing Sahrawi Republic in line with the AU official position. As of September,2022 only 45 of the 193 countries of the United Nations recognized Sahrawi Arab Republic as a country. The disputed region is mostly controlled by the Moroccan government. This first incident created an undesirable precedent as the government settled. It was the sign of many such communication mismatch to occur.
Communication by prominent government officials such as the cabinet secretaries has also been ceaselessly out of order. Various government officials have had to withdraw their earlier statements after it didn’t go well with the general public. The education cabinet secretary Dr. Machogu and Aisha Jumwa, public service, affirmative action and gender cabinet secretary have within a short period found themselves reversing their declarations made just days earlier after being ceremoniously sworn in. These were what most political analysts regarded as roadside pronouncement befitting only of political roadside rallies. Dr. Machogu announced the stopping of government subsidy for university education while Aisha Jumwa promised to increase the salaries of all civil servants. This kind of gratuitous rhetoric has been preponderant in this new administration.
In the thanksgiving ceremonies held by president William Ruto,he has been faulted for continuously promising to carry out unfeasible projects in the areas where the ceremonies are being held. The number of these appealing promises are increasing day by day while the campaign pledges seem to have been abandoned sooner than expected. The deputy president Rigathi Gachagua has also been persistently castigated for being unprofessional in delivering speeches and continuously attacking the former president Uhuru Kenyatta and former prime minister Raila Odinga as well as incessantly lamenting about the situation back then. All these points to the lack of or incompetency of the government communication sector to effectively carry out their duty. The last and the latest example is related to the issue of GMOs. The trade investment and industry cabinet secretary made very amateurish remarks regarding GMOs and this has ignited a debate in the social, political and economic circles. The statement was not befitting of a government official whether it was meant as a joke. A cabinet secretary saying that nothing is wrong with adding GMOs to the long list of things that compete to kill Kenyans was unheard of. This was a new low as far as communication is concerned.
All these communication failures point to the glaring issue of a lack of a sound communication policy within the higher echelons of power. It can also be as a result of the incompetency of those tasked primarily regulating government communication. Every government department has a communication sector whose sole duty is to streamline what comes out of our institutions and our leaders. The communication by top government officials should be streamlined in a manner that is ethical and professional. The communication should also be synchronized with government policy and sustainable development plans. In summary government officials should speak with one voice. Remember government officials are the face of a country and its top ambassadors. The case of Sahrawi Republic almost blew up relationship between Kenya and Morocco and could have become a diplomatic catastrophe for Kenya as a country. Such should be quickly remedied through efficient communication and future cases prevented to through timely and systematic communication.
A communication policy outlines important aspects of communication for any organization. Questions like who speaks for the government? What types of information should be divulged to the public? And the channels and modes to be used are all answered by the policy. These cases could have been avoided if there was a strong national communication policy in place. Although Kenya Information and Communication Act provides for information to be provided for Kenyans online,it is imperative that important information is not passed through the social media. Lastly, leaders should be thoroughly enlightened and informed on the intricacies of public interaction and information sharing.
Anonymous 