Patience Makwele
Vice President Lucia Witbooi has warned that misinformation and weak public communication could undermine the implementation of Namibia’s Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6), saying the government must strengthen how it engages citizens if it is to deliver on its development agenda.
Opening the second Effective Communicators Conference (ECC26) in Swakopmund on Thursday, Witbooi said communication has evolved beyond simply sharing information and has become central to governance, public trust and nation-building.
She cautioned that even well-designed government programmes risk falling short if citizens do not understand the policies driving them.
“We are determined to deliver and be judged on our key national priorities but it will be futile if there is no emphasis on the critical importance of strategic communication of these national priority areas,” she said.
Witbooi said government communicators have a responsibility to ensure that accurate information reaches the public at a time when misinformation and disinformation are becoming increasingly prevalent on digital platforms.
“As communicators, you are tasked with a serious responsibility to ensure that facts, truth and clarity prevail over misinformation and disinformation. You must be champions of truth and agents of change,” she said.
She warned that the government itself would be vulnerable if it failed to adequately support the professionals responsible for communicating public policy.
“As government, we must equally ensure adequate support and provisions to our communicators who navigate daily the complexities of telling our efforts. For if we do not we will be at the mercy of disinformation and misinformation,” Witbooi said.
The Vice President said strategic communication would be essential to achieving the objectives of NDP6 by improving public awareness, strengthening institutional coordination, promoting digital inclusion and encouraging greater citizen participation in national development.
She also challenged delegates to ensure the conference produces tangible outcomes rather than remaining a platform for discussion.
“At the end of this conference, we will be expecting a guiding document on how we can intentionally strengthen credibility, adapt to emerging trends and tell our stories from our perspective,” she said.
Her remarks come as governments around the world grapple with the rapid spread of false information online, a challenge that has intensified with the growth of artificial intelligence and digital communication platforms.
Organisers of the conference have identified misinformation, information integrity and ethical communication among the key issues under discussion during the two-day gathering.
Communication practitioners attending the conference echoed the Vice President’s concerns, saying timely, factual and accessible communication is becoming increasingly important to building public trust and improving engagement between institutions and citizens.
Botswana’s Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe, who delivered the keynote address, said Africa’s greatest communication challenge was not a lack of achievements but a failure to shape its own narrative.
“The Africa I know has no shortage of achievement. It has suffered a shortage of authorship,” he said.
Gaolathe urged governments, journalists and communication professionals to tell Africa’s story with confidence, integrity and discipline rather than allowing others to define the continent.
“Attention can be manufactured. Trust must be earned. Noise may trend for a day. Truth acquires a life beyond its author,” he said.
He also linked effective communication to economic development, arguing that stronger regional cooperation, infrastructure and trade corridors such as the Trans-Kalahari Corridor and the port of Walvis Bay demonstrate how partnerships can translate into tangible economic opportunities.
Addressing young communicators, Gaolathe urged them to prioritise truth and solutions-focused storytelling.
“Write with rigour. Write with pride. Write audience-first, solutions-first and truth-first. Tell Africa to Africa. Then tell Africa to the world,” he said.
The conference, hosted by the Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA), has brought together government officials, communication professionals, academics and industry leaders from across Africa to examine the future of strategic communication, artificial intelligence, media credibility and public trust.
The gathering is expected to conclude with recommendations aimed at strengthening communication practices across government and other institutions as Namibia seeks to improve public engagement and support for the implementation of NDP6.
