Browsing by Author "Nakanduungile, Ester"

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    Evaluating the Government of Namibia social media use policy and implementation plan
    (University of Namibia, 2021) Nakanduungile, Ester; Akpabio, Eno
    The Social Media Use Policy (SMUP) ofNamibia and the Implementation Plan was developed for implementation in 2016 by ministries, offices, and agencies, local as well as regional authorities to assist the Namibian government to utilise social media as an aid to effective citizens' engagement as well as to guide the manner in which social media is to be used. The aim of this study was to assess the SMUP and the implementation plan by determining whether each government entity does recognize and implement the social media use policy, identifying the main types of social media platforms established and used by government agencies, examining the level of adherence to guidelines in the use of social media by government communicators and evaluating whether the selected social media strategies reflect minimum standard components as established by the SMUP. To collect and analyze relevant data, a mixed-methods research approach was adopted that involved interviews with government public relations practitioners, survey of social media users in Namibia as well as document analysis of government departments' social media reports and sites. The main findings of the study were conclusive of the fact that despite various types of social media prescribed by the SMUP, Facebook was mainly utilised by government institutions. In addition, the level of influence and engagement with citizens via social media was found to be below expected levels in relation to the number of social media users in the country. This findings point to the fact that government institutions are not entirely adhering to the SMUP guidance. While the present study was a broad national overview, it should be replicated regionally to help identify weaknesses and track progress towards speeding up the effectiveness of social media in service delivery to the citizenry