The Institute of Public Relations and Communications (IPRAC) Bill will now be presented to Parliament after approval by the Cabinet on August 8.

Bill aims to set standards and regulate the profession of Public Relations and Communications management. If approved by Parliament, the Bill will create the Institute for Public Relations and Communication Management.

The PR profession has come from far. But it is only in recent years that the industry has started seriously considering establishing standards to avoid it turning into a rogue profession, akin to the journalism of yesteryears. And, although a few milestones have been achieved, a lot needs to be done to create standards and discipline in this industry.

One notable achievement was the resuscitation of the moribund Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK), a professional body of PR practitioners formed in 1971. The PRSK has in the last several years benefited from a semblance of vibrant leadership after operating like a clique due to lack of visionary and competent leadership.

The same period has also seen the establishment of PR academic programmes from certificate to doctoral levels. Although the corporate world is yet to fully appreciate the need for highly qualified PR specialists, it will soon become imperative as competition and sophistication in the markets increase.

The IPRAC Bill seeks to professionalise the industry. Although the Bill has borrowed heavily from PRSK’s Constitution, it is a good step in the realisation that the old order of PR being synonymous with showboating has been overtaken by global trends.

According to Forbes, PR is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organisations and their publics. This is a management function that has the potential either to totally ruin organisations, or develop them to great heights in their respective sectors.

Sadly, many people are in PR for the wrong reasons. Just like teaching was in the past, PR has been one of the most abused careers in Kenya.

In fact, about half of PR practitioners are in the practice by default, as an easy way out as they buy time for something better or different in their scope of passions.

Others are in it for the showbiz allure. PR is associated with glamour and financial rewards, which attracts a big number of impressionable people with little or no idea of the profession’s tenets and mechanics.
As a communication lecturer, I discovered that many undergraduates seeking a career in PR have scant knowledge of what it entails, or its import. They cannot wait to graduate so that they can hit the cocktail launch circuit – it is a free ticket to the “good life”.

Unfortunately, even as PRSK awaits the eventual enactment of the Act into law, it still does not have a code of ethics. This should have been one of the initial initiatives as it is fundamental to the growth of any profession. Understandably, ethics is a minefield for the industry as a result of the many unqualified and unprofessional practitioners who have got ahead through subterfuge, lies, and deception.

For instance, during election years, there are many self-styled PR experts purporting to offer political counsel to politicians. They employ guerrilla tactics to garner positive publicity for their clients, while creating smear campaigns and misinformation against their opponents.

Overall, the Bill must ensure it lays more emphasis on the practice and substance of PR rather than the structures. The Bill must also specify the level at which one can be a certified or accredited PR practitioner. We must decide at what level we want PR to operate in comparison to other professions like accountants, lawyers or doctors. It will also help if there is a clear definition of PR. Is it an industry, a profession or practice?

— The writer is a PhD candidate in International Relations