Swakopmund: Regional and local authority councils were on Thursday urged to communicate more effectively with community members by listening more attentively.

According to Namibia Press Agency, Archie Benjamin, listening carefully to community grievances is a more effective method of communication than being overly talkative or listening merely to respond, as is often the case with officials or politicians. Benjamin was speaking at the three-day Effective Communicators Conference, where nearly 250 communications officers from both the public and private sectors are gathered in Swakopmund, Erongo Region.

The CEO said communication is meant to significantly reduce conflicts between regional and local authority councils and residents, who are, in most cases, their clients. "But if you look at our 52 local authority councils in the country, you will see that trust between councils and community members is broken," said Benjamin.

He added that the problem often stems from council officials and politicians talking more than necessary, which tends to make community members feel undervalued, often resulting in protests over service delivery. Benjamin said effective communication should be strengthened through the consistent use of social media platforms, print media, council meetings and public notice boards to disseminate information to both external and internal publics. This, he noted, must be done with a clear plan in place to reduce misinformation, disinformation, and the communication gap about what councils are doing for their communities.

Communications officers from the City of Windhoek and the Central Procurement Board of Namibia, along with information officers from the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, agreed with Benjamin's sentiments during the question-and-answer sessions. The conference, which began on Wednesday, is being attended by communications officers from government and private organisations, their chief executive officers, and regional and local authority councillors. It will conclude on Friday.