Kenneth Kazibwe
Led by their president Tina Wamala, the public relations
practitioners interacted with UCAA's public affairs department on how it
managed the recent crisis on social media by members of the public regarding
service delivery at the country's only international airport.
Speaking to the PRAU members, UCAA Public Affairs manager,
Vianney Luggya told the group that communicating is key in managing any crisis.
"Taking action, communicating consistently and in a
timely manner, engaging stakeholders, and a post crisis analysis of what was
done well and what went wrong for better management in future are key in
managing in crisis," Luggya said.
Crises
Earlier this year, the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority was
embroiled in a crisis that threatened the jobs of several officials after
members of the public took to social media to accuse some of them of extortion.
Many travelers said they had been asked as much as $1000 to
be allowed onto flights whose tickets they already had.
Speaking to PRAU members, the UCAA spokesperson said this
crisis was handled in a professional manner that saw them overcome it.
"One of the key issues that helped us deal with it was
acknowledging the feedback, which created empathy. Honestly communicating the
measures put in place, flexibility in changing tactics and getting the
necessary support from key stakeholders at all levels was also important in
managing this crisis."
PRAU president, Tina Wamala described the visit to Entebbe
Airport as being fruitful to members.
"Our visit has helped members to compare communication
approaches because as an umbrella body that brings together spokespersons from
different organizations, learning through capacity building and sharing of
experiences with one another is a big part of what we do to improve our various
sectors," Wamala said.
The UCAA Manager in charge of procurement, Godfrey Lutimba
Matovu hailed PRAU for visiting and bench-marking with Entebbe International
Airport.
"We are always delighted to receive delegations from
such professional bodies because it gives us an opportunity to share with them
what we are doing and get valuable feedback for continuous improvement for the
benefit of Ugandans and all the users of Entebbe International
Airport,"Lutimba said.
"I commend PRAU for the various efforts the association
is engaging in towards ensuring that the public relations practice is duly
recognised as a profession through a bill that is currently getting stakeholder
input. That is a step in the right direction that will protect the
professionals, weed out the quacks, and ensure that you are held in higher
esteem."
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