Wasting our money on government public relations

Tucked toward the back of EY’s report on its review of public services is a recommendation that Government Information Services “be devolved into the ministries with a lean central functionality.”

EY states that its interviews and analysis showed that GIS “has experienced significant challenges with its reputation, stakeholder management, capability and service delivery.”

That’s how EY puts it. This is how we’d say it more succinctly: GIS needs to go because it is inefficient and unnecessary. We can say this because our analysis of GIS has been going on for much longer than EY’s.

We have received thousands of press releases from GIS over the years, many of which were recalled and amended minutes after they were sent, often accompanied by a photograph of dubious quality. Few of the press releases or photos are published because they offer nothing in the way of newsworthy information, as determined by our editors.

Over the years, GIS has issued enlightening press releases — paid for by taxpayers — with titles such as “Water is Essential for Living,” “Sanitation is a Must” and “Cosmetology Tips” — to go with frequent releases about arriving Cuban refugees, past-due garbage fees and the latest recipient of the Civil Servant of the Month award.

There are several issues with having a centralized “Government Information Services,” starting with the fact that it is controlled, ultimately, by Cabinet. Like the government radio station and government television station, anything produced by GIS is generally done with a pro-government slant, reducing its credibility significantly.

Decisions on content are not made with the reader, listener or viewer in mind, but according to what the government wants people to read, hear or see. Many authoritarian societies around the world use similar models for propaganda in an effort to mislead the public. We’re not saying that’s the case in the Cayman Islands, but it is not helpful to the democratic process for government to use public funds too often for self-promotion.

In addition, all of the government media arms compete against private-sector companies and do so with the unfair advantage of not having to be profitable to survive. If what they produce is of inferior quality or of marginal value, there are no consequences as there would be in the private sector.

By redeploying the communications personnel directly to the ministries and departments, the information officers will become better acquainted with the subject matter on which they are writing, gain understanding of the expectations of those desiring the deliverable, and remove a layer of bureaucracy when tasked to produce something on a timely basis.

EY apparently sees the need for a “lean” GIS to remain in existence, and perhaps that’s right, as long as lean doesn’t involve more than a few hardworking employees and no high-salaried department head.

If this means the Cayman public would have to learn on its own that “Water is Essential for Living,” then that’s a chance we’ll just have to take.