Jimmy Manyi - a surprise appointment, to say the least

February 3rd, 2011

The appointment of the outspoken Jimmy Manyi to the joint task of head of the Government Communications and Information Service (GCIS) and chief government spokesperson is an unexpected one. There are a number of reasons for this.

You have to give it to him that he has the clarity, articulateness and ease in dealing with the media which are requirements for the job. He has a strong media presence and a certain charisma, which is an advantage here.

But for some time, Manyi himself has hogged the headlines in whatever job he holds. And if there is one rule for a spokesperson, it is that you cannot do the job if you become the story yourself, deflecting interest away from the story you have to tell. It was the case with Alistair Campbell in the UK, one of the most effective government media people who had to go when the only story journalists were reporting on was him and his own behaviour. Mr Manyi will have to make sure it is the government, the cabinet and the ministers who are the story - and not himself.

This will be a big change for him.

Mr Manyi has also been a harsh critic of the media. Nothing wrong with this, but it is not a role you can play in his new job. Now he has to develop working, long-term relationships with all the media, whether he likes them or not. He has to build relations of mutual trust and respect with them. Even if he does not like certain individuals or institutions in the media, he has to swallow hard and get to work with them.

Thirdly, you have to be squeaky clean in this job. You have to command respect and stand above the fray. The British government spokesman, Andy Coulson, has just had to resign because he was plagued by the News of the World telephone bugging story, having been the editor when this scandal occurred. Mr Manyi will have to bury the lingering accusation that he tried to use his previous director-general position to garner a BEE deal on the side. He can’t afford to have this albatross hanging around his neck.

And he cannot have even the hint or appearance of a conflict of interest, which calls into question the other hat he wears, at the Black Management Forum. This new job is all-consuming and he would be well advised to make it clear that he has only one interest and purpose and commitment - to represent the government as best he can. He needs to hang up other hats.

It has to be remembered that the bulk of his new job is running the huge GCIS apparatus. Government as a whole is one of the country’s biggest advertising spenders, and the country’s biggest employer of communicators and media people. Above all else, his job is a challenging one of day-to-day management of a large empire.

One has to question whether it is wise to have one person do both these tasks. But that is what Mr Manyi has inherited and he faces a challenging time in adapting his approach and style to this very different new post.

Entry Filed under: Anton Harber, Journalism, Media regulation