Coalition government’s collective failure to cohesively communicate is a boon for populists

It is often forgotten how important government communication is and how it has been neglected for so long.

The government is by far the most important communicator in South Africa, with the biggest budget and the largest number of people who speak in public. Statements by the government, answers to questions by ministers, set-piece speeches and addresses to the nation have a unique power to set the agenda. No other entity comes close.

Despite that, the government is often not able to set the narrative. Rather, other actors, often political opposition movements, have been able to set the tone and create the narrative.

When the DA was in opposition, it frequently set the news agenda in the English-language news broadcasting outlets. During the Nkandla scandal,  it was able to use the media to keep the pressure on the ANC and its then leader, Jacob Zuma.

The EFF played a big role during this time too. Julius Malema used the power of spectacle to completely derail Zuma’s State of the Nation Addresses, where the focus became more on the EFF than the president’s speech — easily the biggest annual set-piece communications event of the year.

The empty seat at GCIS

Now, considering the situation the national coalition finds itself in, and the fact that it faces determined opposition, proper and cohesive communication is even more important.

However, this is being neglected. For example, as has been lamented several times, the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) still does not have a permanent CEO.

On some measures, the last permanent CEO of GCIS was, unbelievably, Mzwanele Manyi, who left that post back in 2012.

Since then he has worked for the Guptas, been gifted a television channel, been the spokesperson for the Jacob Zuma Foundation, become an MP for the EFF, resigned from the EFF, joined MK and become an MP for MK.

Through all of that time, the GCIS has not had a permanent CEO.

The fact that first Zuma and now President Cyril Ramaphosa left this position unfilled for so long suggests that both just do not care about communication and have no respect for the media.

That Ramaphosa himself went without an official spokesperson for several months until Vincent Magwenya was appointed in 2022 strengthens this perception.

But the fact there has been no GCIS CEO for 12 years also suggests underlying political reasons, which have become more powerful with the formation of the national coalition.

Career ender

It may well be that because the ANC was so factionalised, no one group allowed another to control government communications. It could also be that no one trusted by enough people in government wanted the job.

Another reason for the post remaining vacant for so long is that the job could be seen as the quickest way to ruin a professional reputation. Any promises made can be undermined and a CEO might have to answer for every government mistake.

Also, as the Sunday Times has reported, the fact that Presidency Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has political authority for GCIS might be a factor. She seems to enjoy the limelight and at government events appears to seek out television interviews.

While everyone likes attention, opening yourself up for questions unnecessarily can be damaging. Certainly, it gives the impression of a lack of discipline around communications.

Ntshavheni has also been undisciplined in some of her public statements.

Her comment last week that the government would “smoke out” the illegal miners in Stilfontein led to unnecessary controversy. She could rather have said the government would implement the law.

Instead, she and her quote became the story, when the story should have been about the government’s response to a very difficult situation.

If Ntshavheni is a factor in preventing the appointment of a GCIS CEO, then the situation is unlikely to be resolved for a long time to come.

Read more: ‘We will smoke them out’ – Ntshavheni talks tough amid scepticism over number of zama zamas trapped underground

Perceptions of performance

In the meantime, government ministers and deputy ministers, from different parties, are managing their own communications. Their officials contact broadcasters directly and respond to interview requests.

This is how it has always been. Ministers cannot be stopped from communicating in public and must have the ability to control their communications.

However, the political situation now suggests that the message from the government, and thus these ministers and deputy ministers, needs more coordination. This is because they sometimes have contradictory views about certain issues and journalists look for the points of difference between people from different parties in the same government.

Read more: The nixing of the SABC Bill and the evolving tensions in the national coalition

This means there is more of a need than ever before to ensure there is consistency in the message. Without that consistency, the coalition government looks more like a collection of campaigning parties than a cohesive government.

This helps parties like MK that want to create a narrative that the coalition is failing.

It is worth reiterating that this is not about objective facts, but perceptions. The coalition government may not be able to control all of the objective facts on the ground, but its lack of a cohesive communication strategy lays it open to a wide range of perceptions. This could be its major failure. DM