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The government is working on retooling and equipping all of its 600 Public Relations units across the country for effective communication of government programs and activities.
This is to enhance work and output in all the government institutions in the country.
The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, announced this during an opening ceremony of a training workshop for Public Relations Officers at Tutu in the Eastern Region during the week.
The workshop is aimed at exposing the professionals to relevant, consistent, improved methods and skills for an increased result for the Government sector.
“Every government organization must have a functioning Public Relations Unit without which, it is barely impossible to get the job done,” said the Information Minister.
According to the Minister, the training is vital to ensure that, professionals update their skills and also maintain qualified group of public Relations professionals in the sector.
“The first phase of the training, projected for 60 PR practitioners has just begun with the first 30. The other 30 will take their turn in subsequent training,” said Mr Oppong Nkrumah, adding that all the regions will also have their turn to benefit from same.
He was thankful to the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) for the consensus built together to ensure the skill enhancement of the Public Relations practitioners and was optimistic that the rich expertise of the resource persons would be brought to bear on the output of the officers in this engagement to add to knowledge.
The Acting Chief Information Officer of the Information Services Department (ISD), Mr David Owusu Amoah, tasked all PROs to get involved in the transformational programme of the Department to enhance growth and also make the required impact for national development.
Mr Owusu Amoah lauded the effort of the Minister towards retooling its offices with the requisite modern equipment to elicit positive results and called on practitioners to see the training as vital in helping avoid the creation of skill gaps at all the PR units of the MDAs for better output.
The Head of the Public Relations Coordinating Division, Mrs Ethel Ammisah-Cudjoe, called for attitudinal change among practitioners, especially on the use of its virtual reporting platform “Bonsu”.
“If you do not provide the required information on the Bonsu platform to aid our sector Minister and the PRCD to perform their work with ease, the essence of the training is defeated” she opined.
This, she explained, is capable of creating a lot of tension at work and also information gabs for the sector hence the need for the narrative to change after the training programme, to improve the image and also a good projection of work at all levels.
Mr Mawuko Afadzinu, President of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR), also passed through to encourage practitioners to connect, and build profitable relationships during the training activity to better their lots as practitioners and reminded participants that, they are the most important resource of their organization and must be seen, felt and heard regardless of the limitations.
The five-day training programme would take the Public Relations Officers through varied disciplines including crisis and content management, media relations and monitoring among other important topic areas.
The Ghana Institute of Journalism is represented by Dr Ike Tandoh, Dr Albert Anani Bossman, Dr Noel Nutugah and Dr Mavis Essandor all drawn from the faculty of Public Relations, Research, Advertising and media relations.
