Jonglei state wide radio to broadcast in May
April 14, 2013 (BOR) – Jonglei state FM, covering the the eleven counties of South Sudan’s largest and most easterly state, is soon to begin broadcasting news and current affairs programmes in both English and Arabic, according to Jonglei’s ministry of information and communication.
The ministry’s acting director general, Dual Bijiek, said Dochebele Company from Germany has promised to train journalists so that they will be able to manage the radio station to a professional standard.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), last year, constructed the radio station, with equipment bought from Denmark using South Sudan Recovery Funds, according to Dual.
The new station, which will broadcast on 98.8 FM, has employed 37 journalists, with 18 new recruits to run the radio news both in English and Arabic.
Bijiek said that transporting staff to the station will be a challenge as it is located 6 to 7 kilometers outside of the centre of Bor town.
State director for radio and TV production, William Gatjiath Deng, said the new station will promote culture and sport through its broadcasts in local languages as well as English and Arabic.
When South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 the government chose English as the new nations official language rather than having both languages as was the case during the six year interim period of the 2005 peace agreement.
The South Sudanese version of Arabic – Juba Arabic – is widely spoken in South Sudan, as well more traditional Sudanese Arabic. The decision to only adopt English as an official language was widely seen as a political decision to differentiate the South from the North.
Considering South Sudan’s high illiteracy rates – less that three in ten people can read and write – and the remoteness of many areas, radio is a much more efficient method of communication than the internet, newspapers or even television.
(ST)