Ghana’s first female Chief of Staff Akosua Frema Osei-Opare has challenged Public Relations Officers (PROs) of state-owned agencies to do more information dissemination on government’s achievements and successes to Ghanaians.
This, she noted, will calm apprehensions as communication is an important tool for every successful government.
The Chief of Staff was speaking as guest of honour at the 2nd Public Relations Summit in Accra on Wednesday.
She acknowledged the importance PROs of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as State Owned Enterprises in deepening government communication in the country.
Mrs Osei-Opare said even though she was asking for more performance, she was impressed with the work of PROs in disseminating information to the generality of Ghanaians in a manner that informs them about government projects and policies.
“I must quickly admit that I am also very impressed with the enormous contribution of Public Relations Officers of State Owned Enterprises for their efforts in improving communications from their outfits.
The continued co-operation and support of the country’s PROs to the communication of government business over the period is highly recognized and appreciated”, she stated.
Mrs Osei-Opare assured the Information Services Department (ISD) of government’s commitment to fund the purchase of new vans as part of the ISD transformation programme that will help the government information dissemination wing is appropriately tooled to achieve maximum impact for our democracy.
The programme was organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Information and was attended by the Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Chief Director of the Ministry, Mamle Andrews and the Director of the Information Services Department (ISD), Charles Wereko among well-known communication heads of government institutions.
On his part as sector Minister, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah noted that one of the key tenants of every democratic dispensation is information dissemination.
He emphasised that it is the role of state PROs to serve as a link between government and the people of Ghana by constantly providing them with information to help them make decisions.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah called for a paradigm shift in the activities of state PROs and also challenged them to be proactive and complement government’s communication effort so as to make Ghanaians better informed on policies and projects in the country.
