Following independence, most African leaderships failed to alter the top down model and elitist orientation of government communications under the colonial system. They also did not transform the colonial strategy of overtly controlling government communications and information services for narrow political purposes.
Many of these new African governments justified their ‘copycat’ communication methods by appealing to the critical importance of nation building, unity and socio-economic development. But continuation of the colonial model often entailed keeping archaic ‘official secrets acts’ and other security related legislation on the books. A careful analysis reveals that control of communications also went with restrictions on civil liberties. Crunch time came when socio-economic development was not achieved.
In the ’90s democratisation processes forced a rethink of government information services. Apart from the demands for political pluralism, there were also demands by pro democracy forces for freedom of expression and access to impartial information. Further, the emergence of numerous privately owned print media, and later the liberalisation of the airwaves, signalled a different turn.
But most African governments have yet to wake up to the full implications of the new globalised communications landscape, and are yet to formulate effective strategies. Government communicators are still old fashioned civil servants whose key function is to deny information to the media and to communicate as little as possible. Bureaucratic red tape is allowed to slow information flow and strategies include slow motion liberalisation of broadcasting, hostility, harassment and intimidation of journalists and the media.
In the more pragmatic African countries, government information services are being reformed away from crude propaganda towards ‘persuasive’ propaganda. Freedom of information legislation is being considered and restrictive media laws and legislation are being repealed. An elitist orientation remains, but there is a greater awareness about the need for more participatory forms of communication.
South Africa represents this more advanced model, exhibiting signs of a comprehensive and sophisticated strategy to transform government communications and information services. Underpinning such a strategy is the desire to advance both development and democracy in a transitional society marked by socio-economic inequalities. Archaic media legislation has been repealed to reflect the constitutional protection of both freedom of expression and freedom of the media. The government does not own any media channels. An independent regulator standardises the broadcast process and there is a commitment to developing and diversifying media through the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA).
Importantly, South Africa has a government communication service (headed by a CEO, not a lowly civil servant operating from a dingy building issuing press cards) that uses multiple strategies to disseminate information, including the traditional media releases, press conferences, a dedicated news service (Bua news), and a website (www.gcis.gov.za) that is updated fairly regularly with key government documents.
The government also uses oral and direct communication typified by President Mbeki’s Imbizo’s, in which he meets communities to discuss their views on service delivery. Other leaders at provincial and municipal level also hold their own Imbizos. This a particularly remarkable thing because large numbers of South Africans are not consumers of print media, and some in rural areas only have a single source for information – SABC radio and television.
However the jury is still out on the effectiveness of the transformation strategy. Can South Africa create a non-elitist and participatory communications landscape, which addresses the challenges of the global landscape without further marginalising the rural and township people caught on the wrong side of the ´digital divide? It’s a big task.
Dr. Tawana Kupe is head of media studies at Wits University’s School of Literature and Language Studies.