Ho, Sept 3, GNA - Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Minister of Information and National Orientation on Tuesday directed Information Officers to educate the populace on political issues in the country without being partisan. He said Information Officers could not afford to stand aloof from issues relating to the impending general elections in December. Mr Asamoah-Boateng was addressing Information Officers and District Chief Executives in the Volta Region at Ho. He asked the Information Officers to work closely with their Municipal and District Chief Executives in prosecuting the agenda of the government as their core function. Mr Asamoah-Boateng however advised the Information Officers to draw a fair balance between the partisan political activities and official duties of DCEs aspiring to be Members of Parliament and bring their maturity to bear on whatever they do.

He urged the Information Officers to be confident in advising such DCEs to excuse them from performing duties that are partisan in nature. Mr Asamoah-Boateng called for "a binding commitment" between District Information Officers and the Municipal and District Chief Executives in getting consistent information about government programmes, policies and projects across to the public. He advised the officers to educate themselves continuously in relation to their work and share vital information, lessons and experiences with each other.

Mr Kofi Dzamesi, Volta Regional Minister said the Information Services Department had undergone tremendous transformation from what it was when the government took over.

He said from as few as 25 cinema vans in the whole country, each district except for the newly created ones have well-equipped vans for public education.

That, he said, attested to the importance government attached to that department in maintaining a two-way Information Communication between government and the citizenry. Mr. Dzamesi therefore urged DCEs to put every resource at the disposal of District Information Officers to be able to execute their official duties.