MLHA hails media on information dissemination

EPHRAIM KEORENG
Staff Writer | Wednesday October 6, 2010 00:00

Speaking at a media meeting organised by the ministry's public relations office, labour and home affairs spokesperson Osesenaqa Lekgoko said the media is a key stakeholder that plays an important role in her ministry's mandate.

She said the persistence of the media and the tough questions they asked helped the ministry in communicating to the public and unpacking information on the new passport.

She said they have embarked on an ambitious response time limit of two days. That is, they would respond to media queries in two days or less, she explained.

Explaining the process in which the media queries from journalists are processed in the ministry, she said the queries come through the PR desk, and passed to the specific section or department to respond, and then the PR passes it 'to the director for approval. The approved response is then sent to the assistant manager of communications (AMC) who sends it to the permanent secretary for approval, then the AMC sends the response to the media,' said Lekgoko, whose designation is assistant manager of communications in the Labour and Home Affairs Ministry.

She implored media practitioners to always ensure that their questions are specific so that it does not take a lot of time for the ministry to understand what the questions seek.

The spokesperson said journalists should research and ensure that they direct questions to the right ministries or authorities. Lekgoko said that she once received a question that had nothing to do with her ministry.

'Someone once asked us how many HIV positive illegal immigrants cross into the country, but that is for the Ministry of Health and not us. If you don't come with enough information for us to help you, it becomes difficult for us to give you the information you need,' she said.  During the question and answer time, some journalists expressed concern at the two days response time which they said was too long, especially during a crisis, where every reporter is trying to break a story. In her response Lekgoko said they normally respond quickly whenever there is a burning issue.

At the meeting, it was also agreed that high-ranking government officials like permanent secretaries and directors be taken through media relations training so that they appreciate the importance of the media and understand how they can use information in their departments and ministries to effectively publicise service, achievements and other pertinent information with the public.