Kudos to the Director of Press Amie Bojang Sissoho for hosting her first press conference. With this press conference she has set the stage for the Government to begin to control the narrative that would build an interactive relationship with the population. By giving out the Government’s official decisions, actions and positions on issues, it means citizens can now agree or disagree with the Government which is how we will influence public policy and the actions of the Government. In turn it is also the way the Government will affect and influence the actions of citizens. It is this symbiotic relationship that goes to make democracy active, interactive and productive.
This press conference must be made permanent and regular, forever. For this matter, I would advise Amie to study other press offices and press secretaries around the world to see how they build a presidential press office and do their jobs. There are so many case studies and experiences around the word from which we can learn as we embark on building a modern democratic state.
Since the days of Jawara the State House Press Office was never developed as it should and the Director of Press was never seen in the full light of a public affairs professional. They were not involved in topmost decision making processes and places because the Director of Press was merely seen as an appendix. This has to change now.
The President must realize that the Director of Press is one of his fundamental pillars. The Director of Press is not just a public affairs function; it is also a national security function as well as national development platform. For that matter, the Director of Press must sit in Cabinet meetings and other strategic meetings of the State so that she can receive and mould the message in a nice package to deliver to the citizens. The President must see the Director of Press as an indispensable tool that can enhance his leadership, prevent a riot or bring about unity among the people of the Gambia among many other benefits. The value of the Press office is immense.
Therefore the Director of Press must also develop a structure in order to professionalize her office and job. She needs modern tools such as video and still cameras, recording devices and IT experts and reporters and other empowered staffs. She needs to be able to collect information and write good stories for the website or Facebook page or share with the media. She should be able to produce decent video, audio and visual materials to share. She needs to make full use of the Internet and social media. The State House website must be constantly updated. She needs to create the State House Reporters Forum in order to build a relationship with journalists. She needs to create a channel of communication with them so that they can obtain information anytime.
She needs to also build structures within other state institutions to obtain up-to-date information of what they are doing or not doing so that she would be on top of issues at anytime. The Director of Press should avoid saying ‘I do not know about this or that’. She should know everything. This means she should build a robust information gathering system within the State. She is the voice of the State.
Finally, this press conference tells us that indeed the Government is on the path of fixing things. When some of us put pressure on the Government, it is not that we are saying that Barrow must fix all the problems right now. Everyone knows that it will take years for us to fix electricity problems, for example. But what we call for is that the Government must be seen to be on that path of fixing the problem. What shows us that the government is on that path is when the government utilizes its structures and tools such as the Director of Press to give us timely, relevant and true information.
However let me say that, this press conference does not mean that Barrow cannot or should not also come to talk to Gambians. The press conference is not a substitute for what the president should do. They complement each other. Therefore I suggest that after every fourth press conference, the president should chair the fifth press conference so that he can talk directly to the media.
With this press conference Barrow and Amie help to establish a modern governance practice that history will record forever and ever. This is the system change we voted for.
Kudos to Amie Bojang Sissoho!
God Bless The Gambia
Madi Jobarteh
