There’s no doubt that communication plays an integral role when it comes to innovative, accurate, and straightforward dissemination of information within and outside any institution.
In our political dispensation, political parties rely largely on their communication officers on both the mainstream and the electronic media platforms where information is being carried out for public consumption.
Simply put, the policy initiatives and plans formulated by political Parties metamorphosed into manifestos, which we described as social contracts with the Citizens, will be explained in detail by the Party Communicators.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP: Development in Freedom), which is described as a center-right and conservative Party, believed in intellectual and accurate arguments hinged on facts and viable policies.
The Party, for the past years, was attractive to the energetic, skilled, and youthful exuberance in the various Tertiary institutions and Universities across the Country for championing innovative communicative strategies.
The National Democratic Congress, NDC, because of this triumph of the New Patriotic Party, NPP struggled to convince the Ghanaian youth in the various Tertiary institutions that TESCON was vibrant and attractive to the student front.
In addition, the NDC in the past adopted a brute force mentality coupled with glaring propaganda to smear innocent people with all manner of derogatory and frivolous allegations as their campaign tool in every election period.
Looking at the chronology of events in the past, it’s crystal clear that the NPP marshals its way through an intellectual and evidence-based political conversation with astute and seasoned communicators with high repute.
But, what has changed? Your guess is as good as mine! In all fairness, the communication outfit of the Party is on a nosedive, taking a critical look at the way Party Communicators struggled to convey the Party’s messages and policies.
Taking a cursory look at this worrying phenomenon, it thus appears that much work needs to be done to avert the current predicaments of the Party since we are in opposition after a humiliating defeat in the 2024 general elections.
On the main subject matter of this piece, let’s bite the bullet and revitalize the communication outfit of the Party; I gladly and meticulously want to use this momentous occasion to highlight some of the causes and also propose some measures for the leadership of the Party.
First and foremost and on some of the causes, the communication department doesn’t provide the necessary capacity building workshop for Communicators. This has affected people who are involved to be abreast with the current trend of modern ways of disseminating information for public consumption.
Secondly, self-entitlement posturing, an attitude of self-entitlement, has, over the years, contributed to the downtrend of the Party’s communication. For emphasis, some people have taken it upon themselves as if they’re the repository of all knowledge thereby acting above the approach by the young ones for mentorship and learning.
Thirdly, some of the communication Directors, especially at Regional levels, managed the communication outfit of the Party as if it were their bonified property. They manage it like a family affair and only involve people they can easily control in their day-to-day activities.
In addition, the clear disrespect to the Constituency communication officers of the Party. This, when you observe closely, has hampered the level of effective Communication in the Constituencies. Some of the Constituency Executives Committee members disregard the enormous work done by these Constituency Communication officers across the Country.
Further, the low remuneration for Party Communicators has also contributed to the ineffective nature of the Party’s communication machinery across the Country. It’s quite perplexing that Constituency Communication officers are not well-resourced to carry out their duties effectively, and this goes down to members who also work under them.
With an objective analysis of some of the above-mentioned causes, it would interest you to know that the Party is even lucky to have people who still stick to the Party’s communication upon all these matters that are left unattended to for the Party’s stay in power for 8 years.
Indeed, some communicators still engaged in it due to their passion and loyalty to the Party but not any good treatment for them to hold onto in the discharge of their duties. A hungry and unprepared mind can’t deliver and no wonder it’s not attractive for the upcoming politicians.
Yes, this is the time for the leadership of the Party to bite the bullet, hold the bull by the horns, and act accordingly and with the seriousness it deserves for an insightful and amicable resolution moving forward in opposition
To put matters to rest, I cannot enumerate a plethora of the causes without coming out with some proposed viable measures to curtail these worrying phenomena in the Communication outfit of the Party. We can collectively, devoid of personal interest, adopt some of the following measures.
Leadership must involve the promising young ones by providing them with the necessary training, tools, and mentorship to sharpen their abilities and skills in communication.
Again, resources must be provided to the Directors from the National, Regional, and Constituency levels to help them carry out their own programs for effective and reliable communication.
Social media plays an instrumental role when it comes to modern ways of disseminating information to the public. Leadership must equip and train committed patriots who are willing to do the job on the various social media platforms.
The TESCON, under the National Youth Wing of the Party, must be involved in the Party’s communication. We have knowledgeable, intelligent young ones in all the Tertiary institutions who are willing to be roped in, but they’re not given the right platforms to learn and become bright with confidence in their delivery.
At this juncture, this piece is to highlight some of the causes and ways to revitalize the communication outfit of the New Patriotic Party, NPP. It’s of no malice, but to say it as it is, especially with what I have experienced as a Constituency Communication officer for ten months with lots of challenges encountered.
We will bounce back stronger with a formidable communication front grounded in facts and an evidence-based political conversation, both mainstream and social media.
Shalom!
Long live NPP!
By: Abdulai Abdul-Razak
Tamale South Constituency
[email protected]
