Communication is key to development -- Esther Cobbah

By Bernard Yaw ASHIADEY

The Chief Executive Officer of communications outfit Strategic Communications Africa, Esther Amba Numaba Cobbah, has said a lack of proper communication tools can slow down the pace of development.

She noted that through her over-20 years of experience in the field, there has always been need for proper communication in everything.

“Through it all, my conviction about the value of communication for both attaining developmental objectives as well as supporting corporate success has been reinforced.”

Mrs. Cobbah was speaking at a business forum dubbed “This is my Story” under the topic “Entrepreneurship -- A Matter of Skill of Hand and Integrity of Heart” in Accra, organised by the Business Council for Africa, Ghana.

She cited several personal experiences to back her claim that communication is crucial to development and progress.

The Stratcomm CEO said she was able to convince engineering-minded people of the essential need for communication when she set up a brand-new Public Affairs Department at the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

“It was challenging to be able to demonstrate to the oil companies and my own colleagues that the way to handle, for instance, fishermen engaging in their livelihood at sea when you need them to move away from the path of a vessel acquiring data was not by just calling in the Navy to chase them away, but rather by communicating with them and gaining their cooperation for a mutual co-existence between the traditional fishing industry and the emerging oil industry.

“It must be said that when this communication approach proved so successful, the oil companies were thrilled and gained greater confidence in the investment climate in Ghana. They were quick to applaud these culturally sensitive approaches in their annual reports,” she said.

She added that proactive community relations and public education about the petroleum industry, including education for schoolchildren, were important features of the Department’s work.

“The aim was to increase public knowledge of the oil industry and to draw Ghanaians into its opportunities as the mandate of the Corporation required.”

She added that in establishing Stratcomm, “We have been at pains to ensure the framework for effective corporate governance. We have a Board of Directors that has been an exemplary source of inspiration and direction, through their regular reviews of our performance and their calls for accountability on the part of all our management and staff.”                                                                                                                         

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