The government of South Sudan, with no doubt, needs to
make sure that there are structured ways and methods that should act as institutional
guide to information delivery. Government officials, who talk anyhow without
any proper institutional guide regarding what to say and how to say it, risk
exposing the government to unintended ridicules.
Now, as the government and SPLM-in-Opposition get ready
to form ‘The Transitional Government of National Unity’ (TGoNU), it’s absolutely
crucial that a different, promising way of operationalizing national realities be
initiated. Mind-sets need to change and old ways need to be reformed. Issues
need to be researched before any decision is made. All ministries should have
research departments in order to make sure that ministers and departmental
officials make decisions that are grounded in verified and verifiable facts.
The integrity of the government lies in the efficiency of the coordination with
which government agencies operate.
We’ve had many cases where different ministers
contradict themselves. That should not happen. Ministers and all government
officials need to be very well coordinated in order to avoid internal
contradictions. Any official who speaks on behalf of the government needs to
consult relevant authorities before going to the media, or before giving public
addresses with potential policy consequences. Any haphazardly conveyed messages
reflect negatively on the government.
To ensure efficiency and control, public addresses by
government officials should always be
written and passed through advisers for critiques before delivery. Officials
risk saying things they are not supposed to say if they don’t write down their
public speeches. A good example of an official, who sometimes writes down his
public addresses, is Dr. Elias Lomoro. Besides, officials should not publicly
say what they’ve not discussed with their advisers.
In weekly cabinet meetings, different ministers should
inform each other about their operations and what information they’d want the
public to know. Potential public perceptions and how the cabinet plans to deal
with any proposed ideas should be discussed in the cabinet meetings. This makes
sure that all ministries are on the same page when it comes to any information
the government needs to send out.
If the minister of information, the minister of
foreign affairs, and the presidential spokesperson, say completely different
things when they are supposed to be working for the same government, then
something is wrong internally. It would be highly advisable for the government to
correct this short-coming.
Efficient coordination helps the president track the
exact information coming from the government and the ones concocted by
outsiders. It becomes really difficult to know the real government policy
position if officials say whatever they want when they want. In this case the
president would find it impossible to tract what’s said by his officials and
what they’ve not said. The only officials who should speak on behalf of the
government should the designated officials. The government can deny anything
uttered by authorities that are not authorized if such unauthorized statements
tarnish the government.
Efficient coordination ensures that the government’s
integrity and national integrity are protected internally and externally. Many
things have gone wrong because some officials have not done their jobs with the
required diligence. Assumptions are made without the due research and
verification required by governmental operations.
It’s my hope that, as we get ready to have the TGoNU
instituted and guns go silent (I hope), our leaders will find it necessary that
researching of facts and verification of claims is an unequivocally needed standard
operating procedure. With no doubt, facts need to be verified first by the
concerned officials before being made public. Any official, who assumes he/she
knows everything, should be subjected to scrutiny.
Once the government ensures transparency and
efficiency in information dissemination, it then becomes easy to embark on
service delivery to our people. Efficiency makes it easy for government to
monitor performance and progress.
Kuir ë Garang,
