Image is everything
The APNU+AFC coalition seems to be losing its earlier sensitivity towards the need to project a multi-racial image. It no longer seems concerned how it is viewed by the public.
When the coalition first came into office it announced changes to a number of Boards. The life of some of these Boards had not even yet expired. Yet the government, no doubt feeling that it can do as it pleased, decided to change the Boards.
When the names for the new Boards were announced there was strident criticism from local non-governmental organizations that the new Boards lacked racial and gender balance.
The government was stung by the criticisms and quickly reversed itself by reviewing the composition of the Boards. It made changes which improved the outlook of these Boards in terms of race and gender.
Since then, things have returned to their old ways. A number of public appointments have been made without the necessary sensitivity being shown for the need for such balance. The multiracial image of the government is also being neglected.
The government has a major PR problem. This problem has been discussed before. The main problem is that persons with no experience in PR work, but having qualifications and experience in the media feel that their communication skills translate to PR expertise. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is why the public relations of the government are in such a sordid mess.
The government is not doing itself any good with some of the appointments it has made, without, it would seem, any consideration to how these appointments are going to be received by the public.
If you take a look, for example, at the list of persons who are either permanent secretaries or acting as permanent secretaries, there is a glaring absence of racial balance. It is more imbalanced than during the time of the PPP/C. This surely cannot be good for the image of the government. Other appointments have also set a similar pattern. In a divided country, this is bound to raise insecurities.
But while the government may claim that in making appointments on merit, it has to be mindful of the public image it projects. Nothing best highlights the failings of the government in this regard than a photograph which appeared recently in our national newspapers.
The country will soon be celebrating its fifty-first anniversary of Independence. It has a national committee planning these events.
A press conference was held recently to announce the plans for the anniversary celebrations. A picture appeared in the newspaper with those at the head table. There was not a single East Indian at the head table.
It could well be that the group planning the celebrations is a multiracial one. But this was not the image which was being projected by that picture which was carried in almost every daily newspaper.
So when people complain that the crowds are imbalanced at national events, they must consider the impact of images such as the recent one on people’s perception of how inclusive is the planning process for national events.
The AFC has admitted that it has made some missteps. It however claims that its footing is intact. Its footing however cannot be intact in the face of what is happening in terms of appointments and in relation to the image that the government is projecting. Just look at the head tables at events which are hosted by the government, including press conferences, and it tells its own story.
The AFC has to speak up, not lobby or negotiate. It has to impress on the government, of which it is part, to project a multiracial image.
The government is shooting itself in the foot by now paying greater attention to its public profile. It is doing further damage to its image by not paying attention to ensuring that it projects a multiracial image.
