Evaluating the Government of Namibia social media use policy and implementation plan
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Date
2021
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Namibia
Abstract
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
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of
Master of Arts in Media Studies
Keywords
Social media use policy, Implementation plan, Government of Namibia, University of Namibia, Namibia