I Won�t Lie Like Baba Jamal

The minister-designate for Information, Fritz Baffour, yesterday told the Appointments Committee of Parliament that he would never twist facts to make government look good. Appearing before the Appointments Committee, Mr. Baffour said he would always �call a goat a goat and not a cow or sheep,� in sharp contrast to Baba Jamal, a former deputy minister of that ministry, who had told staff of the Information Services Department to call �a black sheep, a fat white cow� or make small things look big in order to make government look good. Answering questions from the members of the committee in an apparent reference to the infamous comment by the former deputy minister, Mr. Baffour, who is taking over from John Akologo Tia, indicated that �I know the difference between a goat and a cow or a sheep and I will always say it as it is no matter the circumstance.� The minister-designated, also the MP for Ablekuma South, said it was the duty of the ministry to give accurate information about government but not to do propaganda, adding, �We should leave propaganda to party people.� �You do not need propaganda to promote government policy. If you have a clear policy you do not need propaganda to propagate it,� he pointed out. On what he would do to help check the excesses in media, Mr. Baffour said there was the need for self-regulation by the media themselves. That, he explained, would also support the National Media Commission (NMC) to carry out its oversight responsibility more effectively. The state media, he pointed out, should have credibility and give a level playing field to all groups including political parties, stressing they should not do anything that would let them lose credibility.