Province sorely lacking a coherent communication strategy
Umnyolwa is a smug, smarmy, prissy boxer and is an ideal adversary for on-form boxers to continue their stellar performance atop the rankings.
Boxing fans are a savvy lot and can see a gormless opponent but the Orient Theatre would be bursting at the seams with spectators lusting for victory, all the while, with the full knowledge that the opponent is punching above his weight.
I was rudely reminded of this boxing phenomenon when health MEC Sindiswa Gomba launched the 100 EMS specialised motorbikes.
The MEC has been turned into umnyolwa because there is absent sophisticated communication machinery that surrounds her, something akin to the whole of the Eastern Cape government.
You do not need a scalpel to see that every time the politicians communicate an important initiative on behalf of their departments, there is a backlash.
To be fair, the media will present an objective story but it will be picked up by Facebook warriors, political brawlers (a combination of out-of-action politicians and armchair critics), street fighters (those peddling the image and reputation deficit of the provincial government) and the “home of legends” legion (brand mavens who are gatvol after dispensing advice that has fallen on deaf ears).
The flurry of voices can see the amateurish communication approach — answers first, explanation later — a knee jerk approach to public and media relations.
The Eastern Cape has turned from home of the legends to land of iminyolwa who suffer an image deficit which has been worsened with the Covid-19 and has not seemed to recover.
The problem is not with Gomba, but the skewed relationship the provincial government has with the media and public that have grown numb to its message of service delivery and combating corruption — better still the Covid-19 pandemic.
Long before the coronavirus outbreak, there was a surge of service delivery protests throughout the Eastern Cape, and the prominent grievances included electricity, housing and water provision.
The Hawks have a catalogue of fraud and corruption cases involving government officials at various levels.
The most recent in a time of Covid-19 is the OR Tambo district municipality door-to-door campaign’s R4.8m invoices, and an alleged scandal involving ANC leaders and officials accused of food parcel corruption.
Premier Oscar Mabuyane has promised since ascending to the helm of the sixth administration to “stop the rot” and an investigation is under way on the food parcels.
Unsuspecting and desperate jobseekers have claimed top officials offered them jobs in exchange for sex in Bhisho, and the same is allegedly prevalent at various municipalities in the Eastern Cape.
There is the problem experienced daily of poor service by officials who ill-treat those who want to access government services at every touchpoint.
But another image needs to be unpacked in the Eastern Cape’s case, which is the legacy of apartheid — one of absolute deprivation where the very poorest of the poor are teetering on the brink of helplessness with little access to services or income-generating possibilities.
There are attempts to undermine the penury and poverty caused by apartheid.
The national development plan (NDP) states that the success of the national plan, and by extension the provincial development plan (PDP), hinges on “creating a virtuous cycle of expanding opportunities, building capabilities, reducing poverty, and involving communities in their own development, all leading to rising living standards and wellbeing”.
This virtuous cycle “requires agreement across society about the contribution and sacrifices of all sectors and interests”, with an awareness that “the majority of South Africans who have remained poor have demonstrated remarkable patience which we dare not take for granted”, states the PDP.
However, with the rapid pace of change in technology and new media, the Eastern Cape communication team must tell our story and share information with the world, or the province will find itself in the perennial defensive position in the face of ongoing negative opinion.
What is abundantly clear is that the province lacks a coherent communication strategy and crisis communication plan and has failed dismally in setting the communication agenda. The politicians need a refresher course on “how to deal with the media and win public support”.
The image deficit can be addressed by a more coherent communications strategy that gives a deeper picture of the province, but this needs a greater sense of the direction of the provincial government as a whole.
The current crop has failed. It is about time Mabuyane jerks up the palookas with fresh minds who can set the agenda with succinct clarity.
Clarity of communications will only come from clarity of direction and strategy.
This is the only way to rescue the province from the land of iminyolwa to restore the cherubic “home of legends”. We have run out of patience with the iminyolwa circus.
The flurry of voices can see the amateurish communication approach