INFORMATION; -- THE NEW OPIATE OF THE MASSES?

Something odd is afoot in the government today; -- information is not being hidden, it’s practically being flung at the 4th estate with a level of vim and vigor not seen before.

Here’s a case in point; -- normally, getting detailed minutes of the meeting of the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, you know, the ladies and gentlemen who decide what the price of borrowing from the state should be…and by extension…what it should cost you [albeit in a narrow sense]; -- is pretty tough.

I should know, my hands have hit the buttons on my keyboard, and my mobile phone, and my office land-line so hard and so often; -- if I do it any more, I’ll break my thumb.

For the last two weeks though; -- I have been getting information from the Central Bank as soon as it’s out. Everything from indicative exchange rates, to the minutes of the MPC meeting…has been delivered to my virtual inbox without asking.

An Isolated case of a government agency getting its act together, you may argue.

Alright; -- let’s tackle that then. Here’s another regulatory agency that’s also getting its act together; -- the Capital Markets Authority.

Reports and summaries of its meetings and its nominal game plans are far more accessible under Stella Kilonzo than they ever were under Edward Ntalami et al.

That however; -- is the kind of change you’d only notice if you trawl through business news with the sort of fascination kids have for ice cream on a hot day.

A more prominent example of this comes from the least expected sources; -- politicians.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has a fairly competent media handler in the form of one Salim Lone. Regardless of what you may think of his views; -- the fact remains that he has the basic [and critical] elements of communication at his fingertips; -- and he has managed to position to the PM to a level unseen before this mania for efficient communication took hold.

President Kibaki’s PPS unit has been fairly lethargic by comparison; -- though the Head of State’s resurgent drive to take a more hands-on approach to matters of government is clearly evident.

On August 11 for example; -- he out-flanked a commission he appointed by renewing their mandate, before they expected it to happen. On the same day; --the man also issued a fairly strong policy statement aimed at streamlining operations at the port of Mombasa and other border points leading into our main trade partners in the region; -- especially Uganda.

On the same day; -- the PM is in the coast, touring the port; -- and slamming calls from Coast MPs in which they demanded that the new Managing Director be appointed from the region.

So, on the face of it; -- one half of this political alliance tackles the politics and the other the technical issues. Key phrase; -- “one the face of it.”
The fact still does remain that these are politicians after all; -- playing the public gallery with the least possible cost [i.e. read that as no-action] is still their forte.

So; -- what’s the bottom-line here?

Much as the government’s various agencies seem to have discovered that maneuvering for publicity is important, and it has advantages, there is the risk that the audience may be lulled to sleep through this. Ditto; -- the same applies to those who transmit the messages to that audience.

It is therefore important to more vigilant, more discerning, and more questioning of these moves.

Actions build this country; -- not just well delivered words and exposure measured in column inches and minutes of talk-time on radio or TV.