Dr. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, a lecturer at the Publishing Studies Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has advised Ministers of State to make effective use of their Public Relations Officers (PROs) to respond to important issues.
He explained that such a move apart from giving the Ministers the opportunity to concentrate on their work, would also pave way for the PROs to make good use of their profession instead of restricting themselves to unofficial protocol issues.
Dr. Opoku-Amankwah was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi, on Tuesday.
He mentioned that although the Ministers had the right to respond to issues in the media, especially on radio, there was the need for them to be given prior notice to prepare thoroughly towards such interviews to prevent them from fumbling and giving incorrect facts about the issues under discussion.
The Lecturer indicated that since PROs have been specifically and specially trained to handle such issues, they should perform their duties diligently.
Dr. Opoku-Amankwa, therefore, suggested that the PROs should be made part of the decision making processes at the ministries to enable them to have the right information for public.
He cautioned the PROs to be always careful in the manner and ways they presented issues to the public and not to allow themselves to be instigated by some politicians to win political points because misinformation when found out could make the public lose confidence in them.