Importance of communicating with citizens

SILENCE and a refusal to explain are no longer acceptable to kill rumors that have been circulating, such as what used to happen in the past. Social media makes rumors circulate to a larger audience so that they get bigger, just like a snowball, if we leave them without negation or correction. In the past, we used to call for ministers and officials to step up and clarify rumors, especially as they caused a lot of confusion among citizens and they related directly to citizens and their life earnings, so that rumors are not left without responses and become truth. Some ministers and officials are now communicating effectively to combat rumors, but unfortunately in most cases these responses are conducted in an unprepared way, which doesn’t explain the rumor, but in fact makes it more mysterious and opens the door for other rumors. Not preparing, or issuance of conflicting statements from ministries, including the most recent statements by the Minister of Finance and Civil Service and the Deputy Minister of Economy and Planning on the Althamina TV show has resulted in a great clamor in the street. Indeed, the meeting stressed that some ministries blamed the other for errors and poor planning, as is the case between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy and Planning. The truth is that we are afraid of the official›s statement more than silence, so we say after his statement, “I wish he was silent.” It is hoped that the Council of Economic Affairs and Development will appoint a spokesman to its team, working professionally to formulate the required statements and submit information to citizens through periodic meetings with the media and to respond to inquiries and to correct rumors and information circulating on the street. It should also coordinate with the ministry concerned to issue statements that are balanced and prepared in advance in a professional manner, away from the individual effort of the ministries, which often are not successful. So far we do not have a coordinated and reliable point for professionally delivering information to citizens before the spread of rumors and misinformation, which some believe and circulate against public interest. If the Board of Economic Affairs and Development initiative appoints a spokesman for the Council and a professional team to deliver the required information and to respond to malicious rumors before they spread, that will prevent the spread of these rumors.