Ramsay is at it again

| Thursday June 13, 2013 00:00

 This native of America is quite a busybody who throws his energy about. We in the media admire the grit and efficiency that Ramsay, the erstwhile columnist of this newspaper, has brought to Government Enclave.We do not speak tongue-in-cheek when we say the man is one of the most productive civil servants Botswana has ever had.Unlike other senior public servants who will take ages to respond to media enquiries, Ramsay acts pronto. Even in the middle of the night, the man will not turn an enquiry down. 

It is our hope that our public relations and communications officers will learn from the government's top spin doctor to whom we doff our hats.  However, there is another side of Ramsay that is increasingly nauseating.An example: 'In the light of (the) front page story in today's Mmegi (7/6/13), the Director General of the Directorate on Intelligence and Security Services, Isaac Kgosi, wishes to reaffirm that he:

*Is a public servant;*Does not harbour any ambition to become a politician; *Has no current plans to resign from his post; and *Is unaware of any 'grand strategy' on the part of anyone else for him to become a member of Cabinet.'In light of the above, this Office wishes to further inform the public that, in the context of the Mmegi article 'Khama's grand 2014 strategy' it also finds no basis for such wild speculation to be presented as if it were news by a responsible newspaper.

'We further note that Mmegi fails to cite any actual source, much less credible evidence, for its front page speculation, beyond its usual lame and unconvincing reference to 'a source in the Government Enclave'.'Even by the abysmal standards of make believe we have too often come to associate with the Mmegi brand in recent years, today's front page, in our view, stands as a new low in its record of empty reporting.' 

Thus do we find that despite the man's attributes, he sometimes attempts to defend things he knows little about.And in that manner, little wonder he comes across as overly intolerant and vulgar. Just because he is the number one government spin doctor does not mean that he is alive to every political manoeuvring employed by his political masters. The problem with Ramsay is that he desperately wants to belong.In the process, however, his bosses grow weary of his frantic behaviour.

Who does not know that Kgosi is a civil servant? What does he mean by actual source?In other words, is he admitting that he knows our sources but they cannot be trusted?  Surely Ramsay, as a credible journalist, should know the cardinal rule regarding disclosure of one's sources.At any rate, there were quite a few sources for our story and we stand by it.With his new-fangled passion for opposing everything in the media, Ramsay is increasingly becoming irrelevant. He would be well advised to learn to keep his counsel sometimes.

                                                        Today's thought'Generally speaking, a howling wilderness does not howl: it is the imagination of the traveller that does the howling.'

                                             - Henry David Thoreu