Govt ministers not listening to their comms specialists

The knee-jerk reaction to protest against the denying of a visa to the Tibetan religious leader clearly indicated that many ministers had not properly thought through the process of most effectively communicating their decision.

Could be better

To the point where even ANC president Jacob Zuma admitted that "it could have been handled better."

And the problem with not taking a deep breath, sitting down and thinking about the ramifications of any decision and also talking advice from advisors, is that the communications process tends to spiral from the sublime to the ridiculous.

The reaction from Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel, was very much out of character for him. Usually an outstanding communicator who has a reputation for well-considered comments, Manuel came across as someone who had suddenly been forced into responding to something to which he hadn't given much thought.

Authoritatively speaking

And foreign minister Nkosazana Zuma's comments that Archbishop Desmond Tutu, FW de Klerk and judges of the constitutional court "did not have the authority" to comment on matters of foreign affairs, smacked of desperation and exasperation.

It has been a problem for quite some time now. Cabinet ministers, however good they may be at doing their jobs, seem to believe that they are all expert communicators and extremely well-versed in dealing with the media. With few exceptions such as Manuel and a handful of others, most cabinet ministers have very little expertise or skill when it comes to the art of communication and dealing with hostile media.

They clearly do not seem to feel the need to make any use of the advice they have available from departmental communicators and the Government Communications and Information System (GCIS)

Talented communicators

The GCIS employs some extremely talented and experienced communicators, both at head office and within the various national and provincial departments. But especially at GCIS headquarters.

But, it seems clear that ministers simply use these people as messengers and not for the purpose for which they were employed. And that is to handle government communications.

It is highly likely that the pressures of electioneering and the close proximity of the Confederations Cup and World Cup football tournaments have put a lot of additional pressure on cabinet ministers. But, this is even more reason for them to save themselves a lot of heartache and hassle by listening to their advisors and letting their communicators guide them when it comes to communicating touchy subjects.

Their do-it-yourself approach has backfired once again.