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President Mahama, facing
the press is good, but…
By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor
Tuesday, January 13, 2016
Folks, in one of my opinion pieces welcoming President
Mahama to office as the substantive President of Ghana at
the end of Election 2012, I made it clear that he could help
our democracy grow better if he used his communication
skills to advantage. In that sense, I suggested that he
should adopt a weekly radio address approach to make his
administration more proactive and relevant to the people in
terms of public policy and government's handling of affairs.
I based my arguments on the fact that a President who knew
how to use "communication" to share information with the
public stood a good chance of remaining connected with the
people. I said also that in our kind of situation, using the
weekly radio address to throw light on the government's
activities could help him deflate political opponents and
make his government visible. It would also ensure that
questions nagging the citizens would be factored into such
weekly radio addresses and answered.
Lo and behold, nothing of the sort has been
institutionalized to date, which makes me wonder why
President Mahama won't take advantage of his communication
skills to improve government-citizen relations.
Instead, an erratic, knee-jerk approach was adopted, using
the sterile "Meet-the-Press" approach, which ended up
embarrassing the government instead. That measure ended in
smoke.
When a former Deputy Information Minister (Murtala Mohammed)
dragged such press encounters to the premises of the
Flagstaff House, I condemned him as not knowing how to do
the government's communication business. I haven't changed
my position ever since, more so when that approach fizzled
out without doing anything good for the government.
The void couldn't be filled by the reactive approach by the
Minister of Communication or other government functionaries
responding to allegations bandied about and seeking to undo
the harm done the government by its opponents.
Many significant happenings have occurred to damage the
government's interests, but no comprehensive line of action
is in place to improve the communication situation.
Now, it is the turn of President Mahama to face the press
and answer questions. This once-in-a-while approach to the
communication task won't solve problems. It won't register
as much as would any other one, especially the weekly radio
address, do.
By way of example, let us say that this practice is the norm
in the United States, where the President speaks to the
people every week to explain his government's activities or
to touch on pertinent issues affecting the interest of the
country and its people. It is one laudable move to keep the
people informed and to connect with them. Such a move
ensures that public discourse remains vibrant. Once the
people get to know what is at stake, they will debate it and
offer suggestions to improve governance.
I am thrilled by the fact that the opposition also gets the
chance to respond to the President's address, puncturing
holes in it whenever possible, and giving the citizens the
other side of the coin to see. That is how democracy should
work. An informed citizenry will definitely sympathize with
the government, even if they are dissatisfied with
goings-on. Once they know what is at stake, they will be
more inclined toward the government than toeing the line of
its detractors bent on damaging it with their empty rhetoric
and political mischief.
Again, the White House also holds daily briefings for the
press corps to ask searching questions and issues clarified
for public benefit. It is not so in Ghana, but could have
been so had President Mahama risen above the pack!!.
That was the approach that I wanted him to adopt; but
unfortunately, he failed to do so and became comfortable
with the status quo ante. Meeting the press occasionally to
answer questions won't redound to his government's image.
There is too much already in the public sphere that his
government will find difficult eroding.
Will President Mahama take advantage of his own
communication skills to make the difference in this period
leading to Election 2016? The weekly radio address can help.
Try it, Mr. President!!
I shall return…
• E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com
• Join me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor
to continue the conversation.
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