The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
COMMENT | Olivia Nalubwama |The Daily Monitor newspaper has carved out a prestigious place in the president’s heart as ‘the bad paper.’ High praise coming from the fountain of honour who regularly takes umbrage with the newspaper’s ‘Truth Everyday.’
The July 9 Daily Monitor article on the ICT report titled, ‘Report shows Ugandans very negative about govt’ had an insightful accompanying photograph. Three gruff-looking soldiers atop a police patrol vehicle on a crowded street in downtown Kampala.
Towering over the milling crowds around them, the foremost soldier is the main character he thinks he is – arms akimbo, his gun hangs freely, dark shades cover his eyes, his face unflinching. The three soldiers look every inch of the intimidation they set out to project. Such a ‘bad paper.’
According to the article, the ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) released a report, “Government Communication Snapshot.’ The report delved into how Ugandans communicate online especially what Ugandans communicate about government agencies. Alas, the report showed that 78 per cent of these online messages are negative.
In the language of the internet, 78 per cent of Ugandans sent out bad vibes about the government and its agencies. Most of the bad vibes were on corruption and theft, attacks on government officials, the Uganda Parliament Exhibition, rising crime, criticism of parliamentarians and other government officials, etc.
Perhaps the bad vibes captured by the report could be down to poor timing on the part of the ICT ministry. The report data covers the first half of this year. The ICT ministry might have noticed – this year, Ugandans online have been quite active. Online activism thanks to activists like Spire Ssentongo, Agather Atuhaire and others has been shouting loudly and rudely at our flammable snowflake leaders unaccustomed to citizens holding them accountable.
The Internal Affairs minister Kahinda Otafiire, a bush war historical and ruling party honcho, did not stutter when he admonished leaders for conflating calls for accountability with hate speech. Aminah Zawedde, the permanent secretary of the ministry of ICT, seemed baffled by the negativity. Reminiscing her yesteryears, wondering how we got here, Zawedde commented, “Growing up, Uganda was not labelled a very bad country, but today, it’s disheartening and sometimes you don’t want to say you are a Ugandan…”
Highlighting the lack of coordinated messaging amongst the various government agencies, Zawedde posited, “I know it starts from simple branding. The branding we have today is not unified as a government.”
Dear reader, can ‘simple branding’ fix a government’s poor image? Will a sleek public relations (PR) campaign get Ugandans gushing positively about their government?
In 2016, The Reputation Institute (RepTrack), a global data and insights organization, ranked Sweden, Canada and Switzerland as the most reputable countries. RepTrack’s rankings are based on key determinants like contribution to global culture, a robust economy, high quality of exports, standard of living, beauty, safety and general tolerance.
It appears that good governance is at the heart of these ingredients. Thus, the most reputable countries also have the highest social progress and lowest corruption rankings. A country’s reputation has a multiplier effect on its tourism, exports, foreign investment and inflow of highly skilled workers.
The head of the State House Investors’ Protection Unit, Col Edith Nakalema was grim in her assessment of the ICT ministry report, noting the negativity would scare away investors. Yet to attract high-calibre foreign investors is to pay attention (not lip service) to our internal workings.
There is no shortcut to a good name. No amount of coordinated government communication is going to change how Ugandans perceive their government if the government does not deliver to the expectations of its citizens. One of my elders once reflected on the euphoria he felt as a teenager when Uganda attained independence in 1962.
Now in his 70s, he watches the news and wishes he could take a vacation from being Ugandan. He argues one needs regular breaks from the vagaries that come with being a Ugandan today. My PR lecturers taught me that the most important target audience in corporate communication is the internal audience. Ugandans have to buy into whatever the Government of Uganda (GOU) is ‘selling’- right now, but Ugandans are not buying.
Dear Ministry of ICT, imagine GOU is a restaurant, sky-high and empty like The Pearl of Africa hotel; you are the customer. Bambi. On reading the menu, your salivary glands anticipate a sumptuous feast. When you finally catch the server’s attention, they walk lethargically like a petulant brat.
Once at your table, you greet them exuberantly; they reply in glares and grunts. They strike a pose daring you to speak, it appears waiting on you hurts their imagined self-importance. Minutes later, they drag themselves back to your table to report that whatever you ordered is not available – and neither is option two nor three nor four.
Slightly irritated, you ask the server for details about another food item. She/he sucks her/his teeth and says, “For me I don know; we are not allowed to eat this food.”
When your order shows up, it embodies the powerlessness that engulfs many a citizen faced with dysfunctional service delivery. You capitulate; your angry hunger is no match for the lousy and defiant customer service. But! You still pay. Ba dia, this is Kampala. The server will gladly insult you, call you a ‘bumshafter’ if you try those foreign imperialist stunts of complaining.
The server watches your walk of shame, triumphant that they disabused you of your high expectations. She/he goes back to mindlessly scrolling on their phone, waiting for the end of the long day when they will help themselves to food stock. Like you, they will struggle through the mind-numbing Kampala traffic to get home.
Later, when you post a poor review about the restaurant, the owner will respond with low-brow insults, accusing you of being a hateful homosexual. The next day, you read online that the owner is hiring PR experts to counter the bad reviews by hateful homosexuals like you.
In Ugandan-speak, we are playing in the answers.
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Olivia Nalubwama is a “tayaad Muzukulu, tired of mediocrity and impunity” smugmountain@gmail.com
THIS ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE OBSERVER
