“Information key to development:” Mtumodzi, Kazako tell government PROs

Public relations officers (PROs) in various government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) are key to the provision of the right information at the right time to Malawians so that they make informed decisions regarding their participation in development, Director of Information in the Ministry of Information Chikumbutso Mtumodzi has said.

He was speaking at Bingu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, during his ministry’s interface with MDAs’ PROs ahead of Malawi’s assumption of SADC chairmanship in August this year.

Mtumodzi said as one way of facilitating the dissemination of successes that the government, through MDAs, is registering, his office has requested all PROs to provide reports on the progress made on various government projects for the past years.

“It is my desire that we share these successes with Malawians so that they appreciate development progress.

“We are the face of different functions of government. We all know of the progress of different projects under our MDAs. It is our duty to make sure that we share this information with Malawians and with the world. Informed people are able to actively participate in the development of their communities. Let us facilitate this process by using various platforms to provide information that will enable Malawians to actively participate in the development of the country,” said Mtumodzi.

The Information Director noted that Malawi will be hosting the SADC summit next August and that President Lazarus Chakwera will be taking over the chairmanship.

“This provides an opportunity for Malawi to position itself so that it can fully benefit from both the chairmanship and also from hosting the summit.

“I call on all of you here to present the best image of our institutions during the summit so that we attract investors into sectors that fall under us. Doing so will help us achieve our goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2063,” said Mtumodzi.

Minister of Information Gospel Kazako said it is his intention that PROs and his ministry meet and interact as frequently as possible to share ideas about improving government communication.

Referring to the ‘Theory of Corporate Image’, Kazako said: “All things being equal, a well-informed public will help an institution to achieve its goals. A poorly informed public will hold a negative impression about the institution and will not support its goals thus resulting in the failure of that institution. The assumptions of this theory apply also to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) that we are working for”.

The minister said the success and failure of MDAs would depend on how well informed the public is about different development initiatives that are in place and also on how they can participate in these initiatives.

“Each MDA that you are representing here is working towards achieving the Malawi 2063, which aims at having an Inclusively Wealthy and Self-reliant Nation by the year 2063. If you read the Malawi 2063, you will notice that the achievement of the ten goals listed in the vision depends on how well-informed people are to participate in programs that will result in having the Malawi we want by 2063,” he said.

Kazako said the interface will, therefore, centre on how PROs can effectively manage the government’s public image and the nation achieving Malawi 2063.

“There are several presentations that will be made to buttress this matter. My expectation from you is that you will be free to make contributions throughout the session.

“Let me extend my profound appreciation to the President of the Public Relations Society of Malawi for sparing time to join this interface. This is how Malawians expect us to serve them in our different capacities of communication. Although most members of the society work for private institutions, the government and my ministry, in particular, consider this Society as a very crucial partner.

“We all have a duty to ensure that Malawians are kept informed about what is happening around them so that they are able to make informed decisions about their lives, and are also empowered enough to actively participate in the affairs of their Government,” said the minister.

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