Govt needs to mend public relations
What you need to know:
- Police statements are doubted, courts systems and decisions are disputed and government policies opposed, the media reports negative stories more than positive stories and end up creating a bad brand for their country.
Following the death of Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga , the minister of Information and National Guidance, Judith Nabakooba warned against propaganda and negative information regarding this death. This was as a result of many conspiracy theories that have been circulating on social media.
Robert Kyagulanyi the National Unity Platform president wrote on his Facebook page that , “Archishop Lwanga joins several other outspoken religious leaders who have recently died under unclear circumstances”.
Forum for Democratic’s Dr Kizza Besigye also wrote a long article on the same. [He later apologised after results of the postmortem report were released]. These messages speak volumes, but it also resonates with what many other Ugandans believe regarding this death.
There are many who think that the Archbishop didn’t die a natural death.
Whereas their arguments or allegations may lack merit, logic or evidence, it is bad to sweep them under the carpet because it gives us a clear image of what the population think about their government.
In management, it’s advisable to always pay attention to “back ground noise”. Many times what people say informally represents their feelings and thoughts more than what they say in formal meetings or engagements.
The reason a section of Ugandans don’t seem to trust their government is as a result of how it has been handling or treating those opposed to it. This poor relationship or negative perception of government affects many things.
How people think about government determines how they relate with it and how they take up it’s programmes and initiatives.
When government is doubted by it’s own people, it finds it hard to convince them to follow it’s programmes. Citizens deliberately refuse to pay taxes, they don’t trust public schools, etc.
Police statements are doubted, courts systems and decisions are disputed and government policies opposed, the media reports negative stories more than positive stories and end up creating a bad brand for their country.
The sense of patriotism and love for the country diminishes as people lose trust in government.
So government should not rebrand it’s image towards the population for the sake of political survival but rather for general development.
Government must change how it relates with it’s people. It should relate well with dissenting voices and demonstrate that it is ready to protect all it’s people regardless of their political affiliation. This will restore the lost trust and it is in this spirit that we shall have national reconciliation, consensus and build a prosperous developed country.
Bazel Odeke,
