The Ministry Of Sanitation And Water Resources has issued a statement to address the allegations leveled against Hon. Cecilia Dapaah accusing her of being rude to an Adom FM reporter.
The Minister has come under severe backlash in the last 24 hours for questioning the propriety of an intern to interview her and citing that it was disrespectful to her office.
In a statement issued by the PR unit of the Ministry, they have sincerely apologized to the Journalist in question as well as the media house and has assured that Hon. Cecilia Dapaah has always been media-friendly and will continue on that path because she appreciates how important of the role of the media is to the progress of the work of her Ministry.
Below is the full statement from the Ministry.
The attention of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources has been drawn to a news item circulating on social media platforms which purports to suggest that the Sector Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah was rude to an intern reporter from Adom FM, a private radio station in Accra when the said reporter called her on phone for an interview.
To all intents and purposes, the news item was quite strange because Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah is one person who is very media friendly and accords the media with a lot of respect and dignity. She recognizes the role of the media as a key partner in the scheme of national affairs, especially as it relates even to her Ministry, the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and would therefore not intimidate or show rudeness to any person from any media house, as a high profile Minister of State and a mother.
For the purposes of the records, it should be stated that the Minister was at a meeting when she received the call and was therefore requesting that the reporter should call later. She was also of the view that the news editor should have prompted her earlier for the interview. The Sector Minister did not ignore the reporter on the basis that she was an intern.
Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah has always been a friend of the media and has demonstrated her desire and willingness to work with the media without exception to any media house or personality involved. She is of the firm belief that the media’s role in promoting the national sanitation drive in partnership with her Ministry is of utmost importance. We are however of the view that looking at the issues for discussion, it would have been ideal for a senior reporter to have conducted the interview with the Minister, since the senior reporter would have been in a better position to appreciate the issues more clearly from the technical point of view”.
It is the view of the Ministry that the issue should not be stretched any further which could affect the existing cordial relationship between the Sector Minister and the media, and by extension, the Ministry.
We however wish to sincerely apologize to the reporter and the media house for any inconvenience caused and hope we will continue to work more closely together.
Thank you.
PR UNIT
23/07/19
Source: modernghana.com
