NUTS AND BOLTS OF CRISIS COMMUNICATION: LESSONS FROM JOMO KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FIRE TRAGEDY

On 7^th August 2013, Kenyans woke up to a rude shock; fire had razed down the entire Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) international arrival section. The incident was so serious that all flights from the airport were grounded as the president came to the scene to assure the nation and the world at large that the government is in control of the situation. As the Economists will rightly point out, the country lost millions of shillings as result of flight cancellations not to mention the property lost in the inferno.

The incident had a far reaching implications not only loss of revenue and property worth millions turned to ashes but also the image of JKIA, Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) and Kenya as a whole was dented. From a Public Relations perspective, the response to the fire, handling of the situation and the events before the tragedy eroded the reputation.

When the fire broke out, the Fire Department took a long time to respond to the emergency leaving better part of international arrival section to be consumed by the raging fire. This painted a picture of unpreparedness when it comes to emergency situations or disasters. With the slow response witnessed in combating the inferno, one may justify why there are no direct flights from USA to Kenya though it’s largely due to arrogance of people from ‘the land of opportunities’. It showed the world how unprepared Kenya is when it comes to responding to disaster/emergencies.

Image ratings also reduced all through the communications of the situation. In any fire incident, there is the tendency by the officers-in-charge to make claims regarding the possible cause of the fire. During a crisis, most of the Public Relations Officers are under lots of pressure to give ‘something’ to the prying and thirsty Journalists who insist in getting some information to report. On the other hand, some of the PRO’s are blown away with the thought of being covered by the by the media so they make up things.

The incident was rife with lots of speculations, from conspiracy theories to electrical faults. Unlike during response to the fire, here the Public Relations Manager was in a position to control the situation and could therefore minimize damage-reputational. The CEO-JKIA, Director General-KAA, and Cabinet Secretary for Transport all addressed the press. They gave different accounts of the event but they all of them somehow thought that the fire was perhaps caused by an electrical fault yet the fire was still blazing and the investigations were yet to commence. The updates regarding the event were also not regular.

Then there was the issue of events before the fire tragedy. In case you are not familiar with those particular events, here is what happened: A couple of days before the fire razed down the place, the Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) evicted investors operating in the Duty Free Shops. They lost some of their goods while others were destroyed during the ferocious exercise. The same action was replicated in Mombasa’s International Airport. The shops were apparently leased to a Nairobi Businessman, Kamlesh Pattni who almost shed tears during an interview regarding the issue on a leading national TV station. Nevertheless, of interest, is how the Public Relations Manager handled the issue-before, during, and after the eviction of the business people operating the shops.  His/her actions during the whole saga was costly especially relations with investors.

As a Public Relations Practitioner, what are some of the lessons from the JKIA Fire Tragedy? Lesson one: As a Public Relations Officer, you should have a well orchestrated plan that will be able to sail you out of the murky waters. The PRO should work in tandem with other staff from various departments in the organization and discuss the crisis plan for any scenario that may befall the organization. In the JKIA tragedy, the Public Relations Manager ought to have explained to the Safety Manager the implications of sloppy and unprofessional disaster response. It is prudent to note that in order to project the good image of the organization, it takes the effort of all staff not only the PRO.

Lesson two: During most crisis situations, there is usually lots of speculation. As a PR expert, you should not speculate or give room for speculation. Report the facts as they are on the ground, no manipulation of information. When you hide information, Journalists usually have a way of finding out and trust me; you won’t like it when they do. It will be probably your worst PR nightmare. If you don’t know, tell them you will get back to them when you get the information. In the case of JKIA, the officials made unsubstantiated claims that the fire was supposedly caused by an electrical fault. This was a wrong precedence since the investigations were still going on. What if it was caused by something else? Terror attack or Arson maybe? The Journalist who pressurized you for the information will be like “but sir, you told us earlier that the fire was caused by an electrical fault?” There is usually pressure during crisis but the PRO should stay firm and don’t give out any information without verification.

Lesson three: In crisis, it is also advisable for all communications to be handled by one official for purposes of consistency that will as well avert possible PR blunders. In the case of JKIA, we had three people issuing official statements of the same incident. This can be confusing since chances are high that they will issue different statements. All the information should be converged at one point and communicated by one person depending on the chain of command or responsibility. The updates should be regular to avoid speculations.

Lesson four: As a Public Relations expert, you should not let a situation get out of hand and become a PR nightmare. The vicious eviction at the JKIA could have been avoided if the PRM advised the management against their cruel handling of the investors. As a PR expert you should be able to analyze all the actions and activities that the organization intends to pursue in order to ascertain the implications on the reputation. The JKIA Fire Tragedy is a good case study of crisis communication. On the whole, a crisis can be both an opportunity for an organization to project itself positively given the media coverage and at the same time, be a liability leading to shrinking of the reputation of the organization.

Authors Note:

The above piece is the premier professional article discussing issues in Communication Management & Public Relations in my compilation entitled “The PR Caster Kenya”. Keep it here for more for insightful pieces coming through from now henceforth.

©Steve Osombah

 

Gospel of Prosperity

El Salvador’s Archbishop Oscar Romeo once posed, “A church that doesn’t provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn’t unsettle, a word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn’t touch that real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed-what gospel is that?” I must contend with the fact that religion has undergone tremendous transformation since Jesus Christ saved us and ascended to heaven. However, Christianity, as compared to other religions, has witnessed the greatest change. I long for those old times that men of cloth used to give sermons that were meant to bring back lost sheep back to God. Times have indeed changed. The church has become a booming business to an extent that some people have called upon the government to impose tax on them since they are making profits just like any other business entity. Perhaps, it may help in footing the deficit in national.

The current generation is obsessed with money and wealth accumulation. People go to outrageous extent in pursuit of wealth. They, in turn forget the Giver of life and money becomes their god. Life has never been a bed of roses. In any case, God told Adam and Eve that they will have to toil to make ends meet. Problems experienced in life has made people hopeless, desperate and frustrated. This is the point where some of these rogue pastors take advantage to push the gospel of prosperity. These pastors package their sermons with gospel of prosperity-how one can get wealth or be prosperous. In return, the congregation pay handsomely for the pastor has prayed for him/her to be prosperous.

Nowadays, we have become accustomed to messages like “Tuma mbengu ya Ksh.5, 000 na utapata kupandishwa cheo ambayo umekuwa ukingoja kwa muda mrefu”. Who thought at one point in their lives that they will be buying miracles? Miracles are in this day and age being sold and the price depends on the nature of the problem. Some have gone ahead to choreograph the miracles so as to boost their credibility that they can indeed heal as a recent TV investigation revealed. What is more worrying is that the congregation has been brainwashed to an extent that they don’t leave the church event after the pastor of the church has been busted for conning them.

In addition to that, most of the gospels of artists have reinforced the sermons of prosperity by loading their music with lyrics focusing on opulence instead of promoting the glory of God. It is undeniably unfortunate that Gospel of Prosperity has taken over and the word of God has taken a back seat. It is my utmost prayer that that few left trying to bring back the lost souls to God to continue with their good work. Wealth is not a perquisite for entering the kingdom of God. There is more to life than wealth accumulation.

©Steve Osombah

Growth of University Colleges Should be Controlled

The higher education sub-sector has witnessed exponential growth in the recent past despite the industrial unrests which have now become a norm. As countries like Gambia have only two universities, Kenya boasts of ten public universities and several private universities with the University of Eldoret, Narok and Kimathi Universities receiving their charters last week. Consequently, the number of students joining universities has increased over the recent years. This is a positive step given that the country is aiming to achieve a middle income status by the year 2030.

However, the university colleges are growing at an alarming rate. Some have argued that the rapid growth should be taken positively given that it is increasing access to higher education. Other pundits, on the other hand have argued that, the growth is due to power struggle in the university management where everybody wants to be a Principal, Finance Officer or the Vice Chancellor when the constituent college becomes fully fledged university. Others have attributed the mushrooming of the university colleges to politics where politicians want to have institutions of higher learning in their counties.

One of the adverse effects is that they take over middle level colleges which offer diploma and certificate programs. This has left a vacuum which has created a crisis whereby students who do not attain minimum grade for university entry lack a place to further their education. At this time, we only have two national polytechnics, that is, Eldoret and Kisumu Polytechnics which have resisted attempts to be taken-over by the universities. The constituent colleges also duplicate degree programs and as a result, we have excess supply of some professionals in the job market. Moreover, universities offer similar programs. 

 

Kenyans have shown significant interest in education but caution should be taken so that we do not end up with 47 or more universities not to mention the private universities which are also growing fast. It is therefore necessary to regulate the university colleges. The number of students taken to pursue different degree programs should be regulated to avoid surplus professionals and they should also diversify the degree programs.

Entrepreneurial Spirit in Moi University Community

Entrepreneurship has been a major topic of discussion in the country in the wake of diminishing employment opportunities. The government has spearheaded several initiatives in a bid to promote entrepreneurship including setting up of Youth & Women Enterprise Funds-which provide loans at much lower rates than the commercial banks. With these kinds of boosts, the entrepreneurship spirit has continued to grow with many people now venturing into business. However, Moi University community seems to have been left out in this quest for wealth creation and self-employment.

Establishment of a university in a given locality usually brings with it lots of opportunities which could boost economic prospects of that particular area owing to the large population. Moi University was established in 1984 and 28 years down the line the entrepreneurship spirit in the area leaves much to be desired. Be as it may, the local community has not taken full advantage of the potential business opportunities available that could rake in thousands of shillings if not millions. Some of the sectors that the community ought to have ventured into include:

Real Estate: This is currently one of the most profitable ventures in the country. The perpetual problem of room shortage has always been experienced in the university every academic year. This presents an opportunity for the local community who can build hostels for the students who miss university accommodation. What if we had a building similar to Hostel H put up at Talai Shopping center or Cheboiywo?

Transport: This perhaps is the highest performing sector in Moi University community save for cartels and tribalism that has dogged the sector thereby limiting its full potential. However, much needs to be done since there are still opportunities in the sector.

Entertainment: No offence, but entertainment in this place is just whack. Currently, we only have two main entertainment joints which have small space that cannot even hold 20 people at any given time. Comrades have been forced to buy drinks and enjoy them outside the bar in usually the chilling cold of this part of Kenya. What if we had our ‘Signature’ or ‘Spree’?

Hotel/Catering: No hard feelings but the quality of food here is way below average and perhaps it could be the reason most comrades prefer to cook for themselves. Hotel ventures can be very profitable especially if quality and quantity of food is addressed. In addition to that, the hotels lack food diversity thereby limiting choice of food. As it stands now, there are three ‘hotels’ while the rest are ‘vibandas’. The ‘hotels’ and ‘Vibandas’ alike charge exorbitant food prices which is not commensurate with food quality/quantity with Ugali-Mboga going for Ksh.50 as opposed to market price of Ksh.30. 

Information, Communication & Technology: The profitability of this sector has significantly reduced owing to the proliferation of internet enabled phones and the free wireless internet provided by the university. However, there are still other people who do not have access to computers or smart phones. Currently, there only two cybers with a capacity of 10 people against an estimated population of 12000 students. As a result, comrades have been forced to queue for cyber services.

There are myriad challenges in entrepreneurship. Nonetheless, the local community can still tap the opportunities lying in the sectors discussed above. The development in this area, 28 years down the line could be astounding. However, it’s never too late especially with the fact that the university will never close its doors owing to the accelerated program.