An appeal to leaders to address communications ‘challenges’

IN a radio interview with my colleague John Robbie, Police Minister Nathi Nhleko was asked, as a final question, to give an inspirational message to South Africans who are weary of crime and do not trust the police.

I am told by the producer of the show that the minister was sent questions prior to the interview and knew that this was coming.

All he could manage was: “We appeal to members of the community to continue to support the work of the police. We really do appeal around this and in fact we appreciate that there are challenges in certain instances, here and there. I suppose there shall always be challenges at the level of a function such as this one, particularly when you are dealing with human lives and so on. But it is important, this is the only institution that we have got as South Africans, that we can use effectively to deal with issues of peace and stability in society.”

I am not sure on which planet this is supposed to be inspirational. One does not need to be a great speaker to inspire people. It helps to be charismatic, I suppose, but my observation is that South Africans are generous in their assessment of people and would overlook the delivery and focus on the content.

But even judging the minister on this criterion, he falls short. He missed the golden opportunity to express solidarity with the many victims of the vicious crime that is hanging like an albatross around our nation’s neck. The message does not leave one with the feeling the minister himself has confidence in whatever strategy or plan has been devised to turn things around.

I am not saying there is no plan, but sometimes citizens just want the comfort and assurance of knowing those in charge of our fate grasp our priorities and can communicate these in a manner that wins our hearts and souls. Doing the actual work is crucial, of course, but people react positively when leaders reflect their realities and demonstrate that they are capable of responding decisively to their concerns.

There are a myriad issues around which the minister could have based his inspirational message. Just two weeks ago, the murderers of Mido Macia — police officers — were convicted.

Police brutality was back in the spotlight after 10 officers appeared in court this week for the torture and murder of Khuthazile Mbendu of Ivory Park. Last week, a video went viral of officers choking a motorist until he passed out.

The Farlam commission on the Marikana massacre made scathing findings against the police and its leadership; the national commissioner, Riah Phiyega, is facing a possible inquiry into her fitness to hold office.

Recently, police officers were gunned down, and the public finds itself under siege from criminals and police officers who pick on unarmed citizens.

The minister could start by acknowledging the psychological impact of all of this on a fatigued and anxious citizenry.

Calling these mere “challenges” is to make light of a grave situation.

Our government’s tendency to respond inadequately is becoming legendary. After a series of road accidents that killed more than 100 people in one weekend, all that Transport Minister Dipuo Peters could say was that she’s “stunned”.

This was not followed up by an announcement of a new strategy to curb this carnage.

I am getting a sense our politicians have not woken up to the fact that communication is a crucial skill that has to be perfected.

They can’t wing it. Deals are made and broken on the strength of how they are communicated to the public. Trust is built and eroded on the strength of communication.

It is that crucial.