By HILLARY TURYASINGURA
The Ministry of Information, Communications, Technology and National Guidance has started distributing Centralized Media Buying guidelines to Local Governments following the mandate to provide leadership of the new Government initiative.
Centralized Media Buying is a Government strategic decision to harmonize communication across all Government institutions in which the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance provides leadership.
Following the inception of the Government initiative and the consent of the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance to offer leadership to the initiative, different stages for the implementation of the initiative have been undertaken with various activities.
They include advertising and harmonizing of communication during the recent Independence Day celebrations (9th October 2019) across different Government institutions, dissemination of media Buying guidelines to Ministries, Departments and Agencies among others.
Now, the Department of Information dissemination and communication in the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance organized a two days’ workshop to disseminate the media buying guidelines to the Eastern Uganda districts thereby taking the guidelines to the local Government.
The districts involved were Amuria, Budaka, Bududa, Bugiri, Bugweri, Bukedea, Bukwo, Bulambuli, Busia, Butaleja, Butebo, Buyende, Iganga, Jinja, Kaberamaido, Kaliro, Kamuli, Kapchorwa, Katakwi, Kibuku, Kumi, Kween, Luuka, Manafwa, Mayuge, Mbale, Namayingo, Namisindwa, Namutumba, Ngora, Pallisa, Serere, Sironko, Soroti and Tororo.
While presiding over the official opening of the workshop at the civil service college in Jinja central division, Jinja municipality on 21st November this year, the Commissioner of Information in the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Mr. Moses Watasa, asked Government Communication Officers to subscribe to different social media platforms if they are to match the pace of Communication in the fast-changing world.
Mr. Watasa noted that, unlike before where one would first have to listen to radio, read newspapers or watch television to get news, today the trend has changed to the extent that an occurrence can be circulated all over the world shortly after happening, through social media platforms.
He added that the communication landscape has changed tremendously and communicators need to subscribe to Facebook, twitter and other platforms in order get information in time, which would help in streamlining service delivery. This he said would also help to give timely feedback where necessary.
While addressing participants in the same workshop, the Acting Assistant Commissioner for Information in the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, madam Sylvia Birahwa, explained that centralized Media Buying is a Government initiative whose objective is to achieve coordinated communication across Government.
She added that starting this financial year (2019/2020), the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance was mandated to spearhead the initiative across all Government Institutions and as a result, the Ministry is looking at taking the guidelines to other regions of the country for effective Government communication.
The Centralized Media Buying Manager who also doubles as a Principal Information Officer in the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance Pius Mwinganisa while addressing Officers in attendance of the workshop said that there is need always for a communicator to have an events calendar in order to have effective and timely communication.
He added that the initiative will help make known whatever is done by each arm Of Government to the public.
The workshop was also attended by several Government communication officers in the Ministry of Information, Communications Technology and National Guidance.
The writer is an Information Officer with Ministry of ICT and National Guidance
