Last week, the Public Relations Society of Malawi (PRSM) held its annual lakeshore conference in Mangochi under the theme ‘The Complete Communicator’, a befitting theme.
This came at a time public relations (PR) and communication issues are now taking centre stage.
Allow me, at the onset, to congratulate Minister of Tourism Vera Kamtukule for being awarded the PRSM Honorary PR Fellow Award 2023. The award is conferred on an individual from within or without the society in recognition of outstanding contribution and service to Malawi’s PR industry.
In its citation, PRSM pointed out that, “in her capacity as a government minister, she has gone an extra mile to put Malawi on the map through attracting tourist traffic to the country with passion. She is an epitome of a public official who not only loves her country but does so through her commitment to the call of her office.”
This year’s PRSM conference was unique in all aspects. Besides bestowing an honorary PR award on a Cabinet minister, the conference was also graced by Uganda-based-Henry Rugamba, Secretary General for the PR continental body, African Public Relations Association(APRA), who challenged the practitioners to live up to the billing by, among other things ,championing the narrative.
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What made the indaba even more memorable was the guest of honour, United Nations Resident Coordinator Rebecca Adda-Dontoh, who called upon PR practitioners in the country to discharge their duties with dedication, empathy and a commitment to excellence if they are to contribute to a more informed, engaged and harmonious society.
Apparently, Adda-Dontoh belongs to the PR family, hence, with PR in her DNA, and as UN Resident Coordinator, Adda- Dontoh was not simply reciting what was in her prepared speech. What she said was based on her experience as a well-grounded PR professional.
And she aptly put it that she had “witnessed first-hand the transformative power of communication in strengthening interpersonal and community relations, fostering collaborative problem solving, promoting social cohesion, advancing sustainable development and mobilising critical masses for transformative change”.
She referred to the UN, where she said communication is held in the highest regard due its unmatched influence in advancing shared objectives, mainly those which are enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to the UN Resident Coordinator, such global ambitions, which are aimed at fostering a more equitable, peaceful, just and sustainable world, can only be attained through effective communication.
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What is even more fascinating is that Adda- Dontoh has risen though the rank and file to become UN Resident Coordinator. She was a PR practitioner for over a decade in the public service of Ghana. Apart from having a master’s degree in PR and Public Communication, she is an accredited member of the Institute of Public Relations Institute of Ghana. According to her, in Ghana, where she comes from, one cannot just wake up and call him or herself a PR professional— one has to write three levels of exams to become an accredited member.
By the way, Ghana is among the few countries that have legislation governing PR and communication after successful inclusion of a PR and Communication provision in the country’s National Communications Act in 2001.
Unfortunately, in the absence of proper policies and legislation governing the PR and communication practice in Malawi, the PR function is fraught with negative perceptions and usually at the mercy of those in the dominant coalition; that is, those who wield power.
In some instances, those who are responsible for recruiting PR practitioners are not even sure about where to place the PR function within the organogram. Usually, it depends on how the PR function is understood in that institution. For instance, those who perceive PR as being an appendage of administration directorate, the post might be called PR and Administration Officer, meaning the incumbent will combine the roles of PR and administrator while, for those who perceive PR as similar to marketing, the combination would be PR and Marketing Officer. And the list goes on.
With this arrangement, it means the PR function reports to a line director or senior manager in a dominant coalition, something which puts the PR practitioner in a tricky situation, especially during crises where time is of the essence.
However, best practice demands that a PR practitioner shouldn’t report to someone who has to report to someone. The PR function should have direct access to the one heading the dominant coalition.
All this points to the fact that, for PR practice to be appreciated, it has to be professionalised and backed by aproper legislation and policies to support the operations of PR and Communication practitioners. We cannot talk about bringing PR from the backroom to the boardroom in the absence of set standards which ensure quality of PR service delivery and professionalism.
With such a legislation, institutions like PRSM would have legal backing to offer professional guidance on matters of PR and communication in all sectors— from business, corporate to government entities.
Probably, PRSM could get some notes from Adda-Adontoh. She could be a good PR ambassador as PRSM lobbies for the drafting of this legislation to regulate PR and communication practice in Malawi.
