THE Democratic Alliance's spokesperson for justice Dene Smuts is either disingenuous or just guilty of political grandstanding: "Prosecutors not spokespersons", Sowetan January 22.

However, Smuts and her cronies should not think that the public and Sowetan readers are gullible and will believe anything and everything they oppose.

Reacting to a decision by the newly appointed director of the National Prosecutions Authority Advocate Menzi Simelane forbidding prosecutors from talking to the media without authorisation, Smuts argues that the new media policy was "wrong".

Any communicator worth his or her salt knows that it is important for any organisation, government department, municipality, institutions and so forth to prioritise communication.

Communication is the heartbeat of any organisation, therefore key to it is the development of a communication strategy, a media plan and a media policy.

I will focus on the latter as it seems to have ruffled some feathers in certain quarters.

Just a free lesson, in case you don't know - which I doubt.

A media policy guides an organisation about who the key spokespeople are and how they should conduct themselves with matters related to communication, especially in dealing with the media.

Therefore, the circular issued by Simelane, to quote his spokesperson, is to ensure control over what gets communicated and how.

There's nothing untoward for Simelane as the communication champion of the NPA to tighten screws and have control of what is being communicated, how and when.

Themba Sepotokele, Johannesburg