BY KFLEEYESUS ABEBE
English Langauge and Literature department at the university of Gondar has the practice of sending students to internship program after students take public relation, editing and public attachement courses. As a senior student, years before, I had the opportunity to go for internship program to a public institution in Bahir dar city, Amhara state. I was very eager to see the practice and gather experience. How do they interact with other organizations? How do they interact with the public? How do they manage to build and protect the image of the organization? How do they prepare resources such as brochures, press releases and others? These were on my mind but what I found was very surprising. The Public Relation Bureau of the organization was being led by a graduate from the hard science who has niether the expereince nor the knowledge on public reation. Therefore, our connection with the head of the Bureau was limited.
Government instituions and private companies’ attention to communication and public relation was very minimal. So, it was not unusual to listen big companies and instituions suffering reputational damage. There were rumors like cement factory and gold extraction companyes harming the environment and people in their surrounding. Some private companyes were defamed to bad employees’ treatment. Share holding companies alleged with sale fraud. Governmenal instituions were criticized for poor customer services. Some of institutions and companies with strong, proactive and professional public relation offices survived but the rest are shut down or are working loss sustained.
The incidences have led organizations to attach prime focus on public relation and communication works. Many organizations which in the past didn’t have public relation office have established the office and hired professionals. They are now providing information on their progresses and activities, promoting their achievements and building relation by engaging in community activities. Personalities began to hire managers. Companies and instituions are also having brand ambassadors.
According to 2011 and 2012 Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) contest winning definition, public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. On the otherside, unskilled and unprofessional practice of public relation affects both service provider and customer. Ethiopian public and private organizations have been suffering due to lack of focus for communication and public relation in particular.
The practice of public relation (PR) in Ethiopia has a long way to go. Very few instituions are interacting with the public through digital platforms. As I witness it now as a journalist, very few instutions provide adequate information to journalists, concerned parties and the public at large. Those companies which have digital presence don’t update their status regularly. Press releases, Brochures and other resources aren’t as such impressive. Companies aren’t still actively responding to queries, complaints or criticisms coming in various ways including social media. Although technolgy is in favor of public relation activities making communication easier, it is rare, if not none, to observe the use of technology in public relation activities in Ethiopia.
In the amidst of this, Ethiopia is opening up itself for foreign investment. Several production companies are already in Ethiopia and others like Safaricom are on the way to start operation. Therefore, it is vital government and concerned parties to give emphasis on ways of supporting public relation works begining from increasing availablity of public relation practioners. Learning institutions and public relation firms should adapt themselves with the international trend of public relation. Otherwise, it will be difficult for Ethiopian and Ethiopian-based companies to be competent globally. Learning institutions should strive to produce public relation practioners who are good communicators, talented writers that can easily perform their works on computer. People who are already practicing public relation should get training and international practices to perform their work upto the standard. Doing so, it is possible to make upcoming investments beneficial both to themselves and the public.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 28 AUGUST 2022
