Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Dr Aminah Zawedde, has called for stronger coordination among government ministries, departments and agencies to ensure citizens receive clear, accurate and timely information about government programmes and services.
Speaking at the launch of Uganda’s National Communication Policy, Zawedde said government institutions must harmonise their communication, particularly when implementing programmes that cut across several ministries and agencies.
“Particularly where programs involve more than one institution, there are programs that are cross cutting, maybe a program being run by Ministry of ICT, Ministry of Gender, Office of the Prime Minister, and so on. We should be working in a harmonized and coordinated manner,” Zawedde said.
She urged government communication officers to work closely with technical departments responsible for implementing public programmes so they can respond promptly to questions and concerns raised by citizens.
“When a question requires clarification, seek the answer from the responsible department and be able to respond promptly,” she said.
Zawedde added that communication officers should help government institutions understand citizens’ concerns, including the difficulties they encounter when accessing public services.
She also emphasised the importance of cooperation between government and the media, civil society, academia, development partners and the private sector in implementing the policy.
Recognising the media’s role in informing the public and asking questions on behalf of citizens, she called for continued collaboration while urging media organisations to operate within the policy’s framework.
“To the members of the media, our fourth estate, we recognize the vital importance of your work in bringing information to the public and asking questions on their behalf,” she said.
Zawedde said government institutions must also make accurate information more accessible to journalists to promote a coordinated and professional communication environment.
She noted that the policy would change how government evaluates the effectiveness of its communication, shifting the focus from counting press releases and meetings to assessing whether citizens receive, understand and act on the information provided.
“We need to ask practical questions that include: did the information reach the intended audience, and in what language did it get to them? Could people understand the information that was delivered? Did they know what to do next after the information was given? Were their questions answered?” she said.
She said these measures would help government determine whether its communication efforts were achieving their intended objectives and identify areas requiring improvement.
As the ministry responsible for coordinating government communication, Zawedde said the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance would provide technical guidance, support public institutions and monitor the policy’s implementation.
She added that implementation challenges would be brought to the attention of relevant authorities for action, while progress would be measured and reported to the public.
Zawedde said an implementation plan had already been developed to guide the policy’s rollout, expressing confidence that coordinated efforts among government institutions and external partners would improve public communication and engagement.
The National Communication Policy is intended to streamline communication across government institutions, strengthen the flow of reliable information to citizens and improve public understanding of government programmes and services.