Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. the Honourable Natalio Wheatley has called out a radio personality for maliciously indicating that he issued an $80,000 contract, stating he is very concerned about the “reckless dissemination of inaccurate information” by some media personalities in the territory.
Premier Wheatley made the comments on Tuesday while delivering a statement to the territory as he denounced the false allegations.
He said, “I also want to encourage everyone to be positive as we look toward the future. As a community, we must be supportive of one another. It does not help any of us to spew untruths about the Government of National Unity as we take steps to drive reform forward.”
“For example, just a few days ago there was a false report by a radio personality that I gave someone an $80k contract to advance a GIS Public Television programme. This is not true, and I call on members of the media and public to be responsible at this time when we need calm and to maintain stability,” Dr. Wheatley explained.
Meeting to be had with media
The premier also said that he plans to hold a meeting with the relevant media stakeholders to address his concerns about the violation of journalistic principles as displayed by some media personalities.
“I am very concerned generally about the reckless dissemination of inaccurate information and the violation of journalistic principles well accepted across democracies across the world. Given that this subject falls under the Premier’s portfolio, I will begin a conversation with the media fraternity about how we can ensure the public is given accurate information and how do we protect members of the public from slander, defamation, and libel,” he stated.