A deputy Information Minister has expressed shock over what he describes as the media’s emphasis on a funny comment he made to staff of the Information Services Department. Baba Jamal had in a tape recording told staff of the ISD to, among other things, over-exaggerate when disseminating government information to the public. He said: “Yours is to make government look good, whatever the circumstance. If the government buys sheep and gives it as a gift, you are free to say it is a cow. You are free to say that. “If the colour of the sheep is black, you can say it was a white colourful cow.” Whilst he confirmed making the statement to Joy News, Baba Jamal said it was only a “joke” meant to provoke laughter. He said the substance of his admonition to the workers of ISD is for them to be true to their ethics and statutory obligation and not to lie. He wondered why a statement he had made about a month ago in the full glare of the media and which was shown on TV will now be made an issue. He suspected the new tape is only to mask what he said is the fading ploy by the NPP in the infamous mystery tape in which he is alleged - and has denied - to be promising journalists cash and cars if they did government’s bidding. According to Jamal he had information that some staff of the ISD who were employed by the erstwhile New Patriotic Party were sabotaging the work of government and had to remind them where their allegiance lie. He had no regrets threatening them with a sack in public if they breached their ethics. But a member of the New Patriotic Party and a former Member of Parliament for Zebilla John Ndebugri told Joy News the response by the deputy Minister is unacceptable. He said we cannot employ a minister only to claim to be joking, adding the comment can only come from a "redundant person" or a "propagandist" He was convinced the Information Ministry served no use in our current democratic dispensation and should be scrapped.