Reactive Communications Impact on a Government or Organisation’s Brand Reputation

Communication is the foundation upon which effective governance and organisational successes are built.

It is the ‘lifeblood’ vital for both internal and external stakeholders, enabling the flow of information, the coordination of activities and the achievement of shared goals.

Conversely, communication breakdowns can lead to confusion and conflict, as in the Kenyan protests. Kenya’s political discourse is transforming after the recent uprising.

When leaders neglect the input of key stakeholders, it can have detrimental effects on their brand and reputation, as evidenced in Kenya where 80% of their population is under the age of 35.

According to stakeholder management practices, the youth in Kenya are considered key stakeholders.

When an organisation makes decisions that impact a specific group of stakeholders without involving, listening to, engaging with and getting approval from that group, they will face resistance.

This resistance has detrimental effects on the operations, stability, peace, business continuity, brand and reputation of a government or organisation, and the cost of repairing these effects can be high.

Kenya, for example, received a downgrade rating from Moody’s, lost 39 young protesters’ lives and saw property worth millions of shillings destroyed.

This tragedy could have been avoided.

However, most governments and organisations choose reactive communication strategies, which result in significant losses in the long run.

The question is, should change always come at the cost of people’s lives? Should civil unrest and riots be the only forms of engagement that governments recognise to effect change? Should employees have to strike before their concerns can be addressed?
Although president William Ruto dissolved most of his cabinet secretaries on 11 July, announced several cuts to government expenditure, removed the budgets for the offices of the first lady and the second lady, suspended non-essential travel for government workers and the purchase of new vehicles and suspended the planned salary increases for lawmakers and cabinet members, with effective proactive communication and stakeholder engagement, these changes could have been smoothly implemented.

Africa has an opportunity to learn from the Kenya case.

It has been reported that Nigeria is also preparing to hold its own protests.

According to the STAR newspaper on 6 July, there is a poster circulating on social media indicating that Nigerians, inspired by the Kenyan Gen Z protests, are planning nationwide anti-government protests in August to demand better governance.

The poster lists 12 demands, including reforms for alleged anti-people policies, over-taxation and electoral processes. The protests are scheduled to take place from 1 to 10 August.

There are roughly 19 days left before the proposed protests, so should the Nigerian government wait and see what happens?
There is a new wind sweeping over Africa.

In my view, this wind started last year with the changes in the government administrations of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. This year, we also witnessed the surprising outcome of the South African elections. The African youth is speaking, but are African leaders listening?
Last week, I presented the salience stakeholder model as a framework for governments and organisations to adopt a comprehensive, bottom-up, multi-stakeholder approach that accounts for the needs and expectations of all stakeholders.

This model can only work if leaders put away their egos and start acknowledging that communication tactics that worked in the past will no longer work for the majority of the generations in the country.

Namibia has an opportunity now to ensure that what began in east Africa does not spread to here.

There is an old adage in the Bible that says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to the point of resentment with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating or abusive; nor by showing favouritism or indifference to any of them], but bring them up [tenderly, with lovingkindness] in the discipline and instruction of the Lord”.

Africa is a ticking bomb, and the leaders who heed this urgency and proactively prepare will conquer.

• Morna Ikosa is a columist with an affinity for strategic communication and sustainable development matters. The views contained in this article are her own.