Gov’t must up its PR game …Gabby Otchere-Darko warns

Political strategist and founder of the Danquah Institute, Gabby Otchere-Darko has called on the New Patriotic Party (NPP) led-Government to improve on its communication and public relations strategy  especially in these trying times when public complaints of economic hardships are on the high and serving as political currency to rival parties.

Gabby noted over the weekend that though the Government had been proactive and prudent by already implementing many of the supposed solutions now being suggested as answers to solving Ghana’s share of the global economic challenge, information on such brilliant initiatives are not been disseminated

One of the suggested key solutions to the economic imbalance is for the Government to cut down on its expenditure but Gabby seems perturbed by the fact that the Government communication machinery is failing to come clear and direct that the suggested cut down  had been done way before now.

“I am reading good suggestions on how to deal with the fiscal difficulties, like cutting down on govt expenditure. But, already spending is down by more than 20% and MDAs are feeling the pinch. The Presidency alone has cut expenditure down by over 30%. Govt must up its PR game!”, Mr. Otchere-Darko tweeted over the weekend.

“…Perhaps, the people must be told more and deliberately so on the sacrifices being made by the Executive”, Gabby added via his facebook page.

His tweet fits into internal concerns that the communication machinery of government needs some oiling as it has become an ineffective fire-fighting brigade rather than a proactive Public Relations institution.

Gabby however did not give fine details on how exactly the PR game should be improved upon.

It is however clear that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has  for a better part of this year, generally dictated the pace and set the agenda for political discussions.

A situation that puts government communicators in shackles and compels  them to be mostly chasing the narrative while gasping for breath instead of setting the agenda for such discussions and having time to tell of its strides despite the challenges.

Land Borders Example

A fine example is the ongoing calls for the land borders to be opened after they were  closed in March 2020 when the country recorded its first cases of the COVID-19.

Government has taken a decision at the recent Cabinet retreat to open the land borders but the communication wing has been strangely silent although the issue of the reopening of the borders has become both a political and an economical one.

In the midst of the silence from the side of Government, the NDC is having a field day, telling Ghanaians it is very much concerned about the unopened borders and that it would push government to get them opened in the interest of the people.

For instance, former President John Mahama has added his voice for NDC’s calls for the opening of borders and said Government has no justification to continue the closure.

John Mahama’s call comes after the Minority in Parliament last week made the same demand from the Government to open the land borders.

The construct of the narrative is that it is the NDC and John Mahama pushing the Akufo-Addo Government to open the land borders so as to facilitate the free flow of persons, goods and services within the ECOWAS and the rest of the world.

This is a popular call among the electorates and amassing political currency for the NDC as it is been seen as the party speaking in the interest of the people to a ‘defiant and insensitive’ Government.

Meanwhile the decision to reopen has been  long taken but has not been communicated by an inactive PR team obviously clueless on the implications of not been proactive  and strategic in political communication.

Again is the topic of the compulsory COVID test costing $50.

One wonders where the Government PR team went to sleep ad why they seem nt to be awaken by the loud noise by the NDC… a loud noise supported by a majority of Ghanaians.