Making SONAs Friendly

A few weeks ago last month, the President had the opportunity to engage with the media during which he tackled various national issues and how he has addressed same since assuming the leadership of the country.

Today's State Of The Nation's Address (SONA) offers President Akufo-Addo another opportunity to talk about how he has gone with handling the mandate the people of Ghana bestowed upon him.

Unlike the media encounter whose highlight was its interactivity, today's is a straightforward delivery about his governance thus far and the tasks ahead.

It is going to be a long session although we trust the President to have a preference for brevity and to make what could otherwise be boring – interesting. Not too easy to go along that tangent on occasions like the SONA anyway although the last time he delivered one he surprised us all with the shortness of the session.

We wish to recommend a future review of the packaging of the SONA. There is nothing wrong with introducing novelties into such matters especially since they would inure to the interest of effective communications. After all, that is what the SONA is all about. The President seeks to be effective in talking to his compatriots about his programmes and the need for all to join him in achieving his goal of obviously making life better for the people of Ghana.

Managers of such programmes must consider introducing power-point presentations and informatics so deliveries would not be boring and above all lessen the fatigue associated with such engagements. Audience tend to sometimes get lost in long deliveries and even sleeping off midway into such important presidential assignments.

SONAs must be friendly so that the messages would be digested without some members of the audience turning to fidgeting with their mobile phones.

Although we acknowledge the fact of President Akufo-Addo's oratory excellence which makes him able to hold his audience's attention for long, such sessions nonetheless need improvement.

In Dakar, Senegal we witnessed the fantastic delivery by the President which earned him a standing ovation and made Ghanaians proud.

A government which has covered so much within a year of its being around should have a lot to talk about through the President who does not have the whole day to himself; as are his listeners.

Ghanaians are anxious to hear from the President what more he is going to do to alleviate their challenges especially in the areas of employment.

The economic indicators are sources of encouragement. They tell us more about how responsive the economy has been to the pills being administered by the President and his team.

We expect the President to remind us about what the situation was like when he assumed the leadership of the country and what the readings are today.

We would definitely hear about how much the Special Prosecutor would address the challenge of corruption so that monies saved can be used to manage the many projects on the menu of government.

In Dakar, he told enthusiastic listeners about how when corruption is tackled and outflows controlled, free education to the children of Africa can be ensured.