Is public relations taken seriously in Tanzania?

By Erick Mchome
Success Reporter of citizen newspaper.

Communication has evolved over the years in Tanzania to become one of the most essential disciplines. It is a little surprise, therefore, that more and more university graduates are taking public relations careers as companies seek to boost their images in a world in which accountability to, and proper communication with the public has become a key component of business. However, is the work of PR professionals in Tanzania really taken seriously?

One would be forgiven for answering the question in the affirmative without any element of doubt because at face value, all seems to be aglow in the prestigious field of public relations: the TV appearance, the press conferences and events. Yet experts and professionals in the communications field say behind all the glamour and glitter that more often than not comes with their career, PR is still grossly undervalued and massively underutilised in Tanzania.

Grossly undervalued
Rukia Mwangungulu, a communications specialist with a government agency, says with all the efforts that have been done to improve communication in the country, the field of public relations is facing many challenges as it tries to penetrate to be a culture in our society.

“It appears that PR is still undervalued and underrated as a marketing specialty in Tanzania. Most companies, for example, do not give public relations professionals enough space to determine the course and shape of the firms’ interaction with the public,” she observes.

“In most cases, the problem is with the attitude of senior management, who tend to lack trust and belief in the role of PR people – so sometimes even your efforts to provide information to the public face stiff resistance from within the organisation.”

In the public sector, public relations got a shot in the arm during former President Benjamin Mkapa’s second term when he launched the Communication Initiative to address the need for the government to tackle a potential PR disaster. By that time, the government had read the writing on the wall: the call for better service delivery, transparency, integrity, professionalism and good governance had become a song for the free media and civil society.

There was heavy criticism of government from various quarters, including the opposition. And the overnight explosion of the media coupled by and spurred on by an urban population overwhelmed by the new free economy posed a serious challenge. So, the idea behind the Communication Initiative was, therefore, to proactively shape the image of government amid mounting criticism, and to effectively justify the new policy as well as to communicate the success story of the current administration.

Attend regular training
In the same spirit, when President Jakaya Kikwete took over power, he gave the initiative more prominence by ordering that every ministry and government agency employ two professional communicators to handle the public relations portfolio. To date, heads of communication in government departments attend regular training to hone their PR skills. But has the attitude changed for the better?

Not much, suggests Martin Mugarula, who also works as an information officer with a government department. “Of course, most departments have communications units, but that is all – the PROs are there because the President gave the order. But in reality, their work is not taken seriously,” says Martin, a mass communications graduate.

“In most cases you find that a junior PR officer does not have a say when it comes to decision-making on matters related to external communication – your advice is thrown away. You want to release information to all the media houses, for example, but your senior won’t hear about that because they want the information given to the state media.”

The majority of PR specialists in the country are grossly underpaid, Martin adds, earning much less that their counterparts in other African countries where the career is more appreciated. More so, Tanzania does not have a vibrant body of PR practitioners, that functions like the Public Relations Institute of South Africa (Prisa), for example.

Irene Kiwia, managing director of Frontline Management, a top PR consultancy in Dar es Salaam says she has started mobilising public relations practitioners in Tanzania to set up the organisation.
“I believe by the end of this year we will be having it. We are planning to bring PR experts from developed countries to share their skills with local practitioners,” says Irene, who also decries the slow growth of the industry as a result of lack of understanding of its scope.

Interestingly, from college and university, an increasing number of journalism and mass communication graduates are opting for careers in public relations. At Tumaini University, Iringa, 80 per cent of journalism students last year preferred to major in public relations. The trend is said to be the same at St Augustine University and University of Dar es Salaam’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Gone are the days when print and electronic journalism were the dream of many mass communication students.

And of late, many students admit to desire to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Rukia Mtingwa of Vodacom Tanzania, former Multichoice public relations manager Lucy Kihwele and Kelvin Twisa of Airtel, who have become regular representatives of big companies in the media.

Despite the growing interest in the field, says Genevieve Kasanga, Kensington Associates Ltd director, PR as a discipline is yet to be fully appreciated and taken seriously by many influential individuals and organisations in Tanzania.
“PR is not growing fast in Tanzania because there are people in the industry who do not know how much it helps to build the image and reputation of their organisations,” says Genevieve, whose company offers PR consultancy and training.

“I believe what we might need now is for the curriculum in schools and colleges that offer PR studies to be amended in such a way that it suits the current scenario,” adds the former corporate affairs official of Standard Chartered (UK).
Barbara Kambogi, Multichoice Tanzania public relations manager, predicts that despite the hurdle, the PR industry is posed for continued growth.

“I think it will grow to be as big as the marketing industry in Tanzania because more and more organisations are realising the importance of public relations,” she says.
Paul Brown, Chat Public Relations Agency director agrees. He says contrary to common belief PR is key to business. “The success of any organisation can be determined by how good its PR department is because it is the face and the voice of the organisation,” says Brown.

Generally, many key individuals and organisations agree that PR is very important. But while this is clear, implementation remains a challenge, experts say.

Elsewhere, the practice of public relations is spread widely. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the world’s largest public relations organisation, is a community of more than 21,000 well-paid professionals that works to advance the skill set of public relations. PRSA also fosters a national student organisation called Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA).