Botswana Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe challenged Africans to reclaim the continent’s narrative during the second Effective Communicators Conference in Swakopmund, Namibia. Gaolathe urged a shift toward authentic authorship, emphasizing that regional integration and honest communication are essential to overcoming Africa’s reliance on external definitions.
Reclaiming Africa’s Narrative Through Authentic Authorship
Speaking to an audience of government communicators, academics, and media professionals, Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe argued that Africa’s primary obstacle is not a lack of success, but a failure to effectively communicate its own achievements. The conference, hosted by the Namibia Press Agency (Nampa), centered on the theme Communication Reconsidered – A Driving Force for Constant Progress.
“The Africa I know has no shortage of achievement. It has suffered a shortage of authorship – authentic authorship. We must tell our story with discipline, dignity and the confidence of a continent that knows what it has endured, what it has achieved and what it intends to become.”
Ndaba Gaolathe, Vice President of Botswana
Gaolathe stressed that the pursuit of publicity often undermines the substance of a message. He warned that while attention can be manufactured,
trust is something that must be earned through consistent, truthful communication. He reminded the attendees that history is defined by leaders whose character and actions align with their public statements, noting that who we are eventually speaks louder than what we say.
Economic Integration and the Shift to Concrete Communication
Beyond traditional media narratives, Gaolathe called for a more tangible form of communication: regional infrastructure. He argued that cross-border projects serve as a more powerful message of unity than any political speech or press release. By citing the Trans-Kalahari Corridor and Botswana’s dry port at Walvis Bay as examples, he illustrated how infrastructure projects provide physical evidence of regional cooperation.
He urged policymakers to move past the communiqué
and toward the concrete,
suggesting that the success of African integration depends on projects that physically connect economies. This approach, he argued, turns abstract goals into reality, making the progress visible and undeniable to the citizenry.
Prioritizing African Perspectives in Culture and Media
A significant portion of the address focused on the continent’s cultural and intellectual footprint. Gaolathe criticized the tendency to prioritize heavily processed global brands over local products, noting that African food, culture, and literature are often undervalued on the global stage. He lamented that many classic African literary works remain largely unknown to the continent’s own youth.
To remedy this, he advocated for a more interconnected internal dialogue, stating that a child in Southern Africa should be as familiar with East African imagination as they are with local traditions. When these words fail to travel, we weaken our inheritance,
he warned.
In his closing remarks, Gaolathe issued a direct appeal to communication professionals to prioritize local audiences and solutions above all else. He urged them to tell Africa for Africa, then tell Africa to the world,
emphasizing that wisdom and insight are not limited to those in positions of power, but are often found at the community level.
Sources: Allafrica, neweralive.na.
Keep reading
