A NEW magazine to promote government activities was launched in Honiara, Wednesday.
The Government’s Communication Unit (GCU) will publish the monthly news magazine for the government, which will be called the Nation.
Director of Government Communication George Herming said for the last 10 years, people have not been informed about what their government is doing.
“People have been unaware of the important aspects of the government’s responsibilities, especially, on government’s development agenda and how it manages the country as a responsible government,” Mr Herming said.
“This publication is one way we can ensure our people are informed and remain confident in the government as a truly effective instrument to promote lasting socio-economic development, equity and national unity,” he said.
“This magazine is attempted to provide the most accurate and balance comments on issues that are often not reported in the mainstream media.
“We intend to look beyond the headlines and tell our readers the details of issues within our government,” he said.
He added that they are intending to reach out to the unreached in the remote parts of the provinces.
“Our team is currently working on a nation-wide distribution program to get this magazine to the villages, schools, and other strategic locations in our provinces.
“Many people have said that information is power and making accurate and relevant information readily available to people is a sign of open governance, which is necessary to empower our people to make informed choices in their lives.
“Over the last 10 years or so, we as a country have made commendable progress towards achieving some of our development aspirations.
“However, challenges still remain that require serious and bold actions by the National Government and its stakeholders.
“Some of these achievements and challenges have never been properly analyzed and reported in the mainstream media that is why this magazine has been produced to provide the untold stories about our government.
“I hope that our management team will allocate more money for this exercise in our 2015 budget.
“The reason why we called this Magazine “The Nation” is because the name was first used in our newsletter way back in 2009 and 2010.
“It was chosen for the simple reason that the government is the head of our nation.
“The government is often referred to as the leader or father of its people and that is why we chose the word “Nation” as the mast-head of this magazine,” he said.
Mr Herming said the magazine’s editorial content is designed in a way that is flexible to invite in-depth stories and analytical articles from heads of ministries and other government agencies.
“The Nation is not aimed at competing with the mainstream media, but providing a useful avenue with detailed and relevant information that are sometimes ignored or forgotten by journalists and the media,” he said.
Mr Herming called on all government ministries and agencies to work together or make available relevant information to the members of his team to tell their stories to our people.
Meanwhile, he said that the magazine will hit the streets very soon and also will be distributed free of charge to all government ministries, private sector, NGO’s and our many villages across our country.
“An electronic version will also be distributed for those who have access to the internet and will also be uploaded on our soon to be developed new website.”
By STEPHEN DIISANGO
