Communibumbling

Communication is key, and all too often we find it is one area that our Government does not exactly excel in.

Recently however, our daily press updates have been quite impressive, and, dare I say, commendable.

It feels as though for the first time that I can remember, Isle of Man politics actually has a real presence, and people who would not ordinarily engage with, or even know much about our local political system, are putting names to faces and getting a real insight into the running of this Country.

The last week however has proven to be an utter shambles, with back-pedalling on two highly inflammatory statements.

On Thursday 07 May, the Government announced the cancellation of the Senior Race Day bank holiday, an announcement that sparked much heated debate all over social media.

The very next day, Treasury Minister, Alf Cannan MHK, confirmed that this was in fact incorrect and that the bank holiday had instead been moved to 28 August, now in recognition of health and care workers.

This raises a whole separate question, of how Tynwald does not have a vote on cancellations or alterations of bank holidays, and how this appears to have been entirely the prerogative of the Treasury Minister. But that is for another rant.

Only three days later, following an announcement that the horse tram line would not continue past the War Memorial, contrary to parliamentary vote, the Department of Incompetence found itself frantically flip-flopping, stating that this was not in fact correct, and that the work on the single track to the Sea Terminal would continue in due course, although no indication of a timeframe has been given (let’s wait and see).

One may very well question the logic behind the promenade being dug up yet again at a future date, with current work not even being near to completion, as well as the additional cost this may attract. But again, that is for another rant.

The issue here is, that the Government has, in less than a week, released two particularly rousing statements in a totally uncoordinated and bumbled way, only to then have to retract/correct them soon after.

In an age where information spreads like wildfire over social media, it is crucial to ensure that messages are being communicated clearly and consistently and that the content is accurate. These recent failures yet again highlight how amateurish our political system is, and unfortunately, detract quite significantly from improvements which may otherwise have been made.

It doesn’t matter how much communication we receive if we cannot trust that the information is correct. Will a statement made today be retracted or corrected again tomorrow? Could such a retraction even be nothing more than a swift reaction to public sentiment?

How can we trust a word we are told if the powers that be cannot even get the simplest information right in the first instance, or at least coordinate their communications in a comprehensive way that paints a full picture?