JEDDAH: “The media spokesman did not respond” has become a common phrase reported by many media outlets that deal with investigations into local issues.

This silence by spokesmen in responding to the media has prompted criticism by both journalists and readers alike, especially as responding to queries is at the heart of their positions and an obligation under a Cabinet decision announced Monday.

As journalists continue to wait for responses to their queries, 11 government bodies still lack an appointed media spokesman, including the Commission of Investigation and Public Prosecution, the Office of the Ombudsman, justice and notary offices, Nazaha, the Ministry of Housing, and the General Auditing Bureau.

Reacting to media claims that government spokesmen fail to respond to queries in time, spokesman for the Jeddah municipality Mohammed Obeid Al-Buqmi said: “I often receive more than 100 telephone calls per day from journalists and media professions. Some of them contact me at inappropriate times or ask questions that are not urgent. Sometimes, I get four calls from journalists working for the same organization.”

He admitted to delays in responding to some questions that require thorough collection of figures and statistics, as such processes call for referring questions to concerned departments to prepare a response, which can take up to a month depending on the type, size and number of questions received.

Jeddah Mayor Hani Abu Rasi has stressed repeatedly that all departments need to cooperate and respond rapidly to questions, as the media is an important partner to the municipality and shares the concern with issues and desire to fix it.

As for frequent claims that the post of the spokesman is plagued by poor performance and routine work, he said: “The spokesman is required to respond to mobile phone calls around the clock, even in the late hours of the night. Unfortunately, some journalists call in the middle of the night and ask questions, only to publish related stories two months later.”

Al-Buqmi said questions of journalists are answered in no later than three working days, and often at the same moment if the inquiry is general. But if the question requires accurate information that must be collected, the period for response is between one week and 10 days, provided no answers are intertwined with other government agencies.

According to media and educational adviser Saudi bin Saleh Al-Mosaibeh, the post of the spokesman was launched in the Kingdom without specific regulations, laws, goals, or post descriptions that specify the work responsibilities and objectives.

“Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, is the best in this aspect in term of his ability in dealing with numerous incidents that require providing information, whereas spokesmen of other authorities are often absent,” he said.

“I suggest that the council of experts study the roles and responsibilities of this position and decide on how to deal with related authorities, and that there be a special bonus, in addition to salary, of at least SR100,000 like some editors, in order to incentivize them to respond to hundreds of calls daily,” he added.

He also called on spokesmen to hold a press meetings twice a week to provide information and respond to inquiries and questions from the media.