DAR ES SALAAM, May 22 -- ACROSS this series, I have argued that policies do not succeed on design alone, and that communication must move from a support function to a leadership discipline.

The next step is more demanding. It is about influence. Not influence in the narrow sense of visibility, but influence in the practical sense, whether institutions are able to shape understanding, build confidence, and move people to act.

That is the real test of governance. In Tanzania, we have seen that progress accelerates when communication moves beyond information and begins to influence behaviour. The expansion of mobile money did not happen because systems were available. It happened because people understood how those systems could simplify e...