PEC APOLOGIZES TO MINISTER OF ENERGY.
The Minister of Energy, Ambassador Henry Macauley has given audience to the head of PEC Sierra Leone, Mr. Malador Sowe, his executive and Media friends who streamed into the office of the Minister to tender their apology for the current misinformation being published by certain media houses regarding the six months pilot contract between EDSA and PEC Sierra Leone
The Minister, who was very calm but curious to hear from the guests, quickly invited his Deputy Minister, Ing. Alhaji Hassan Barrie, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Zainab Buya-Kamara and the Counterpart Director General of EDSA, Ing. Alhaji Timbo to be part of the gathering.
The CEO of PEC, Mr. Malador Sowe in a state of remorse said; ‘Mr. Minister we are very sorry for the misleading information and allegations levied against you on the issue’. He went on to expose the unprofessionalism of some media houses when he said; ‘I did not grant interview that they could not have investigated. They just grasped the opportunity to write things based on what they heard’, he stated. The journalists who were also part of Mr. Malador’s delegation, also tendered their apologies to the Minister for the bad press that he received over the said pilot contract.
Commenting on the issue, the Permanent Secretary (PS), Mrs. Buya- kamara stated that the Ministry of Energy is for everybody and that young Sierra Leoneans like Mr. Malador Sowe and colleagues are highly encouraged under the local content policy but must not misuse the opportunity. In an angry mood, the PS continued that the unguided publications and misinformation from various media houses were just used to smear the Minister’s good image. That kind of practice she said is unprofessional. She reminded the PEC CEO that it was this same Minister who took PEC’s proposal to the Board of Directors of EDSA and made a recommendation for them to help young Sierra Leoneans to invest in the energy sector.
Deputy Minister, Hassan Barrie stated that he was shocked by the behavior of PEC and their media friends who could not even ask for the Ministry’s side of the story. He lamented that young investors must have respect for others especially senior public officials in the country.
In his reaction, the humble Minister said he started building his reputation as far back as the 80s and some people are trying to damage it now. He stated in no uncertain terms that the misinformation given to the media must be corrected by the PEC CEO. He said; “the repairs should be done by the same media houses,” adding that the extent to which the misinformation is corrected, will determine whether the apology was genuine or not.
PEC CEO, Mr. Malador Sowe gave assurance that his media friends will try as hard as possible to clean the image of the Minister. He said; “Mr. Minister, for the fact that you felt disrespected, I will do all I can alongside my media friends who published allegations against you during the past three weeks, to clean up your image. It is a promise that we are going to do retractions by whatever means Mr. Minister’, he ended.
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