Alfred Nzo District Municipality’s Deputy Executive Mayor, Cllr Nomasomi Mshuqwana, has issued a strong call to government communicators to allow politicians to openly confront service delivery challenges instead of shielding them.
Speaking during the municipality’s communication retreat held in Durban last week, Cllr Mshuqwana said communicators often limit councillors’ engagement with communities, especially where there are complaints or service failures.
“Where do you want to take me? Why don’t you allow me to face people who may even insult me?” she asked. “You only talk about good things. People also want to hear about the challenges.”
She criticised the tendency to highlight successes while ignoring issues on the ground. As an example, she mentioned water projects that function briefly before breaking down: “We deliver a water project, it works for one day and people complain — why are you not talking about those challenges?”
Mshuqwana added that communicators often discourage politicians from responding to difficult media questions under the belief that their role is to “protect political principals.” This approach, she warned, undermines public trust.
“People do not see politicians as genuine if communicators always show only the good side. It’s like a clean audit that does not reflect in service delivery. If communicators also talk about challenges, people will trust that we are able to self-correct,” she said.
The Deputy Executive Mayor further urged communicators to use languages that communities in Alfred Nzo can easily understand, calling for messaging that resonates with local realities.
She also questioned why private institutions like banks achieve strong public response with just a single message, while government communication struggles to gain similar traction.
Another concern she raised is the limited budget allocated to communication units in municipalities. She, however, expressed commitment to advocating for improved funding. “We are still going to fight for the budget,” she said.
No tags for this post.
