WINDHOEK, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's information minister Tjekero Tweya has urged government public relations officers to use the digital media to inform the public of developmental projects.
Tweya said this Wednesday when he addressed a three-day workshop being attended by 40 government public relations officers at Otjiwarongo, about 250 kilometers north of capital Windhoek.
The minister complained that despite the presence of public relations officers at every ministry, most websites are down or rarely get updated.
Tweya further said that he has discovered that either the public relations officers do not know how to use the internet or that the companies hired to do the work were not doing anything.
According to Tweya, using the internet to inform the public about ministries promotes accountability and transparency.
"We must create an open society as public relations and information officers, so that we can then start to talk about poverty alleviation with empowered residents with the right information," he said.
By not disseminating information through social media, Tweya said, the public relations officers are depriving the public of the right to know.
"You are doors between the public and institutions you work for, therefore, keep those doors wide open because if you do not, the public will become suspicious and break it for them to see why it is kept closed," Tweya said.
