PRESS RELEASES The New Vision Newspaper Admits Publishing False Reports Posted by on Jun 23, 2008, 07:50

The case between the Office of the President and the New Vision newspaper about the latter’s publication of a front-page story stating that President Ernest Bai Koroma had spent over one million dollars flying to African countries alone came up again today at the offices of the Independent Media Commission in Freetown.

Presidential Press Secretary Sheka Tarawalie and the Managing Editor of the New Vision A.B.S. Massaquoi represented their respective institutions. During the previous deliberations on 3^rd June 2008, Mr. Massaquoi had insisted he stood by the story and would provide the evidence to the commission. When asked to do so today, he produced a self-typed document titled “Presidential and Vice Presidential State Visits Overseas Excluding Air Tickets”. The Managing Editor insisted that this was all he had to corroborate his story.

Chaired by Commissioner Christo Johnson, the Complaints Committee was quick to add up the figures presented by Mr. Massaquoi (who did not present a total) showing that the overall sum according to his document was far below what he had published in the first place. Apart from that, Mr. Massaquoi was reminded that the story he originally published never mentioned the Vice President’s trips and should not have been included in a case about the President’s travelling details. Mr. Massaquoi was also reminded that his story had said the expenditure of over one million dollars was on the President’s trips to African countries alone, while in his presentation he had included trips outside Africa. Furthermore, Mr. Massaquoi’s attention was drawn to the fact that President Koroma, since his inauguration, has never travelled to Mozambique (for which his document had claimed the President spent $ 70,000) nor to the United States of America (for which he documented two trips of an expenditure of $110,000 and $ 20,000 respectively), nor has the President travelled to Dubai (for which he claimed an expenditure of $75,000). It was also brought to Mr. Massaquoi’s notice that he had included expenditure on a trip to Japan which in actual fact happened long after the publication in question.

Even if what the Managing Editor presented were true, it would have still been summed up to a total of $725,000, which was certainly below the sum his newspaper had all along insisted to be true.

The Office of the President had earlier presented figures of the overall travelling details of the President totalling less than $300,000. And it has always been insisted that all presidential trips had absolutely been in the best interest of the country with regards the benefits the citizenry would accrue thereon or thereafter. The Office of the President has also always stated that the President has never received any per diem for all his foreign trips.

When asked to say a few words before the Complaints Committee could make a judgment, the Managing editor of the New Vision belatedly admitted having published false reports and regretted publishing them, and he said he would not have published them if he had known the truth. He also admitted not being able to contact the State House Press Secretariat before publication.

The Complaints Committee, indicating that they would have to reference how the Media Code of Practice had been breached in a story involving the highest authority in the land, is expected to come up with a judgment within the next few weeks.

THE PRESS SECRETARIAT,

STATE HOUSE, FREETOWN