There are so many outcries against the Zimbabwe government and with perfect utility actually. There are many contentious issues that we can spend eternity discussing or debating on. My focus today is the issue of communication. As you know the government is comprised of numerous arms, agencies, departments and so on. I want us to reflect on some developments that have occurred over time pertaining to communicational issues. Which lessons can we draw from those developments? How best can we apply them to our businesses?
The ZESA Eskom Debt Payment Story Last Year
Do you remember that time last year when media was awash with headlines of a story saying government had paid part of Eskom debts? A few days later we saw Eskom refuting the claim saying they had not received any funds. The local energy minister, Advocate Fortune Chasi went on to apologize indicating that government had lied. He actually blamed Treasury (the finance minister in particular) for misleading him. Minister Chasi said he had been verbally informed by Minister Mthuli Ncube that the payment had been made. There are several lessons to draw from this incident – will delve into them later on in this article.
The Recent Currency Issue
A few days ago there was a story doing the rounds saying that the RBZ was going to liberalize the interbank market. This would mean there would be no controls. Someone was saying they got insider information that the RBZ wants to float the rate. Though this was largely speculative we ended up seeing the RBZ issuing a press statement. It read: “The Bank would like to advise the public to disregard, with the contempt it deserves, the false and mischievous article circulating on social media suggesting that the Bank has devalued the local currency. The intention of such disinformation is to cause panic and despondency, and ultimately destabilize the country’s foreign exchange markets through manipulation of the exchange rate. We wish to advise the public that, consistent with the Monetary Policy Committee announcement on 19 November 2019, the Bank is enhancing the Reuters foreign exchange trading system to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the allocation of foreign exchange to the productive sectors and enhancing price discovery on the interbank market. Already, engagements have been done with Commercial Banks to ensure smooth implementation of this system. Currently, Banks are working on a user-test environment to enhance the efficiency of this foreign exchange trading system.”
It is surely not coincidental that someone or some people started talking about the floating of the rate by RBZ out of the blue. They must have heard something from insiders at the central bank. I will also highlight a key communication lesson to draw from scenario.
The Recent ZERA Fuel Price Hike
Recently news of a fuel price hike started spreading. This is not the first time this has happened – it has occurred numerous times before. Once again, ZERA had to issue a “Fake Notice Alert” notifying the public to disregard a fake fuel price notice circulating on social media. It pointed out that their official communication channels are its website (www.zera.co.zw), Facebook (@ZERAenergy) and Twitter (@zeraenergy). It is also emphasized that fuel price review notices from ZERA bear the official ZERA stamp.
These are 3 examples that I have decided to give reference to. Let us discuss some lessons to draw from them.
Communication Should Be Borne Out Inter-Operation And Must Be Formal
From the first example we saw two ministers from different ministries speaking at variance with each other. One had announced something based on verbal communication from the other. When Eskom refuted the claim, the one who had received verbal communication was now defending himself. We see there how not keeping each other in the loop can create embarrassing and disorganized situations.
We also learn of how problematic it is to rely on verbal communication. Cultivate a framework where even if you share certain communications verbally you must still put them in writing. That way there is accountability and formality. If you claim someone told you something and it is not in writing, they can deny it at any point. These are things you must bear in mind as you run your businesses.
Control Internal Access To Sensitive Information
Regarding the currency issue I would not be surprised if someone did hear something internally at RBZ. If that is the case, look at the panic and confusion it caused. Consider if that were to happen in a business, for example, someone leaks privileged information. That would be detrimental to the business and all because there was no solid framework to protect access to sensitive internal information. It is common to hear stuff on social media with phrases like “an inside source ”. This means most entities struggle with effectively controlling or securing the information so that it does not leak or be misrepresented. Remember I am just using the RBZ example to enunciate my point. I am in no position to validate or invalidate what was circulating on social media. Their press statement, to me, somehow validates it. Overall, think of this in line with how you run your business.
As for ZERA I applaud the fact they at least have official platforms that serve as verification for any information that might circulate. This is something that businesses must also emulate. It must be known where and how you make official communications. It must also be known how people can ascertain the authenticity of any communiqué purporting to be coming from you. These are some of the useful communication lessons that your business should assimilate.