DPP issues a tough warning over false information being propagated on 21B Dam Scandal

The office of The Director of Criminal Investigation has come out to issue a tough warning regarding the on-going investigation of the 21B dam project.

HERE IS DPP REPORT

My attention has been drawn to a story appearing on the front page of The Standard Newspaper, dated 4th of March 2019, captioned, “DPP’s Italy trip links four CSs firms given plum projects”, the full story is on page 8 of the same paper titled, Ministers’ proxy firms trading with State”.

I note with utmost dismay and concern that the author of the story alleges to have obtained the information from a member of the team which is described as a MultiAgency Team (MAT) comprising of: EACC, AG, DPP, DCI and Asset Recovery Agency (ARA). While a visit was made to Italy by the ODPP, none of the alleged members of MAT, accompanied the DPP. In this regard, it is utterly unprofessional for a mainstream media house to propagate such a narrative without seeking official comment from the ODPP and more so when the media house attributes the information to undisclosed sources. Furthermore, the usage of the DPP’s photo on the front page and page 8, is intended by innuendo to depict the DPP as the source of the information.

I wish to confirm to the public that I am not privy to the alleged information and the article is therefore grossly untrue.

The ODPP has a clear public communication policy that guides communication with the public and other stakeholders and any information from our end cannot be released clandestinely as the article seems to suggest. I have noted with great concern that there is an emerging trend to release misleading information to the public and attribute it to public officials. This must stop.

HERE IS THE FULL REPORT

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *