Journalists have been cautioned to uphold the integrity of their profession by cross-checking their stories to avoid “scurrilous reports about public officials”. The caution was contained in a press release issued by the office of the Vice President and signed by Mawuko Zormelo, the media co-coordinator. The statement was issued to deny a publication by The Statesman newspaper on Saturday, 14th April, 2009, which claimed in a banner headline “The lean & mean gov’t hoax: NDC’s weekend of car shows” in which it alleged that President J.E.A. Mills during the Easter Holiday, traveled to the Eastern Region with a convoy of 15 vehicles, whilst the Vice President went to the Northern Region with a 17 vehicle convoy. The vice president's office said the contents of the paper’s story are “untruths” and explained that the Vice President, John Mahama, received the publication with “shock”. The statement noted that contrary to what the Statesman claimed, “on Saturday, 11th April, 2009, H.E. the Vice President attended a Charity event organized by the Joyce Tamakloe Memorial Foundation on Cancer to raise awareness and funds for the Urology Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. “It should be placed on record that the Vice-President attended the said event in a convoy of two vehicles and not in a long convoy as the Statesman publication sought to portray to the public.” The statement further noted that on Sunday, 12th April 2009, the Vice President traveled from Accra to Wa (by air) and from Wa to Bole (by road) to attend this Year's Congress of the Gonjaland Youth Association. “H.E. the Vice-President's convoy was made up of three four-wheel-drive Land Cruiser vehicles. Although Party Executives and friends from the Gonjaland Youth Association were in Wa to accompany him to Bole in their Party and private vehicles, the Vice President insisted that these vehicles preceded him to Bole and his wishes were obeyed.” The statement assured Ghanaians that “the leadership of the NDC are very much conscious of the Party's campaign promise to lead an austere government and have, since their assumption of office, lived by that promise. In this regard, neither the President nor the Vice-President drives in long convoys.” “His Excellency the President and the Vice-President would wish to caution media houses to always cross-check their facts before publishing to avoid such scurrilous reports about public officials, and to endeavour to uphold the integrity of the noble profession of journalism” it concluded. The Communications Director at the Presidency, Koku Anyidoho had already denied that President Atta Mills travelled to the Eastern Region with 15 vehicle convoy as reported by the Statesman newspaper. “The president was in Accra throughout the Easter period, and so he did not go to the Eastern Region, let alone use the 17-vehicle convoy”, he told Joy FM. Story by Isaac Essel/Myjoyonline.com