The presidential press office is one of the most important and delicate parts of the presidency. It defines the President’s daily undertakings.
It is an office that must not be treated with kid gloves. It needs to have finest brains in public relations, for it should not be disgraced.
However, President Peter Mutharika’s public relations machinery is slowly turning into a laughing stock due to avoidable mistakes.
When the President appoints people to such positions, they should only get there after thorough auditions to gauge if they have a demonstrable understanding of the duties, capabilities and competencies of the presidential press office.
This is not the case presently as the public is being inundated by press statements with faulty spellings, grammar and other basics.
Press releases are very crucial in disseminating information about the President and his world of work.
They ought to be treated as such considering the fact that they represent the highest office in the country’s politics.
It has now become a habit for the presidential press office to release salad statements with errors.
What happened to team play or peer-checking? What happened to editing and attention to detail?
Nearly every press release from the State House spin doctors bear one mistake or two in dates or wording. This is worrying and demeaning. It does not speak well of the President and the people he appoints to speak in his name.
It shows lack of seriousness.
Of course, to err is human. But it is a mistake to repeat a mistake. It may as well be a sign of childishness, incompetence and ineptitude.
Does Mutharika’s spokesperson Mgeme Kalirani work alone in the esteemed office? Are there any proof-readers and subordinate staff to spell-check his work?
Or is it just the excitement of being the first to break the news-as do citizen journalists on the social media?
This is worrying. It leaves a lot to be desired and some may wonder how Mutharika’s press aides rose to the top.
I believe the mounting mistakes and criticism from the public needs to be taken seriously.
A presidential press release is not just an ordinary paper.
It is more serious stuff than updating a Facebook status or tweeting just for the buzz.
It is supposed to be top-notch public relations that must be seriously guarded from being perceived or treated with contempt.
It is my plea to the presidential press office that they have a big responsibility and they need to pay attention to detail and quality of communication leaving their hands.
They must treat it with utmost caution, microscopically checking and editing the press releases, before making them public.
The esteemed brains behind the erroneous press statements from the presidential palaces must soberly accept mistakes and criticism.
They must keep improving the way they disseminate news which is highly crucial.
It is of paramount importance for the presidential press officers to note that they hold the key to public information from the President. As such, it must be treated with caution.
The presidential press office must take criticism with a positive attitude for change.
The ongoing typos, wayward dates and grammatical errors embarrass the President who has the discretion to hire and fire his press team.
