Communication is the foundation upon which effective governance and organisational success are built. It is the “lifeblood”, which is vital for both internal and external stakeholders, enabling the flow of information, the coordination of activities, and the achievement of shared goals.
Conversely, communication breakdowns often lead to confusion and conflict, as it did in the Kenyan protests.
Kenya’s political discourse is transforming following the recent uprising. When leaders neglect the input of key stakeholders, it can have detrimental effects on their brand and reputation, as evidenced by Kenya, that has 80% of their population under the age of 35 years.
According to stakeholder management practices, the youth in Kenya are considered as key stakeholders. When an organisation makes decisions that impact a specific group of stakeholders without involving, listening to, engaging them and getting approval from that group, they will face resistance. This resistance has detrimental effects on the operations, stability, peace, business continuity, brand and reputation of a government or organisation, and the cost of repairing these effects can be high.
For example, Kenya received a downgrade rating from Moody’s, saw 39 young protesters losing their lives, and property worth millions of shillings destroyed. This tragedy could have been avoided; however, most governments and organisations choose reactive communication strategies, which result in significant losses in the long run.
The question is, should change always come at the cost of people’s lives? Should civil unrest and riots be the only forms of engagement that governments recognise to effect change? Should employees have to go on strike before their concerns are addressed?
Although president William Ruto dissolved most of his Cabinet secretaries on 11 July 2024, announced several cuts to government expenditure, removed the budgets for the offices of the first lady and the second lady, suspended non-essential travel for government workers and the purchase of new vehicles, and suspended the planned salary increases for lawmakers and cabinet members; with effective proactive communication and stakeholder engagement, these changes could have been smoothly implemented.
Africa has an opportunity now to learn from the Kenya case. It has been reported that Nigeria is also preparing to hold its own protests. According to the Star newspaper of 6 July 2024, there is a poster circulating on social media indicating that Nigerians, inspired by the Kenyan Generation Z protests, are planning nationwide anti-government protests in August to demand better governance.
The poster lists 12 demands, including reforms for alleged anti-people policies, over-taxation, and electoral processes. The protests are scheduled to take place from 1-10 August 2024. There are roughly 19 days left before the proposed protests, should the Nigerian government wait and see what happens?
There is a new wind sweeping over Africa. In my view, this wind started last year with the changes in the government administrations of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. This year, we also witnessed the surprising outcome of the South African elections. The African youth is speaking, but are African leaders listening?
Last week, I presented the salience stakeholder model as a framework for governments and organisations to adopt a comprehensive, bottom-up, multi-stakeholder approach that accounts for the needs and expectations of all stakeholders. This model can only work if leaders put away their ego, and start acknowledging that the communication tactics that worked in the past will no longer work for the majority of the generations represented in the country.
Lastly, Namibia has an opportunity now to ensure that what has begun in East Africa does not spread here. There is an adage in the Bible that “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to the point of resentment with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating or abusive; nor by showing favouritism or indifference to any of them], but bring them up [tenderly, with loving kindness] in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4, Amplified). Africa is on a ticking time bomb, and the leaders who heed to this urgency and proactively prepare for it will conquer.
*Morna Ikosa is a seasoned stakeholder engagement and strategic communication consultant.