Government owned newspaper, Sierra Leone Daily Mail, which is one of the official mouthpieces of the government, has not hit the newsstands for a week now. According to newsvendor, Saidu Kamara, the last publication was on the 30 October 2017. “I don’t know what’s wrong with Daily Mail,” he said. Also added that “…some people still ask for the newspaper (Daily Mail).”
Sources at the Daily Mail’s office indicated the office generator was without fuel and the Electricity Distribution Supply Authority (EDSA) pre paid meter was also without credit.
In a telephone interview with the Managing Editor of the newspaper, Gunther Daramy, he explained that the printing machine assigned to print for the paper by the Government Printing Press at New England is faulty. Nonetheless, Gunther disclosed the printers demanded that our stories are brought in, in the afternoon and that is not plausible for a newspaper since we have to wait for news that might break in late.
When asked about why there is no credit on the EDSA meter and no fuel on the generator, the Managing Editor explained that the there is enough money to buy EDSA credits… “it just happens that this thing can go off at any time,” he said.
Daily Mail is one of Sierra Leone oldest newspapers. The paper went into a coma for decades and was resuscitated by the All Peoples Congress (APC) sometime last year. However, less than a year since its recovery, the government mouthpiece seemed to have been hit by stroke.
OTG/6/11/17
By Ophaniel Gooding
Tuesday November 07, 2017.
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