The Executive Director of South Sudan Community Change Agency, a local civil society organization in South Sudan’s Amadi state says the people of Amadi do not have access to information due to lack of radio stations there.

Festo Bali Christopher told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that the lack of information is affecting the citizen’s constitutional right to access information and hence demand better governance.

He said there are many issues affecting the lives of the people that need to be brought to the attention of policymakers and humanitarian actors for decision-making and improved service delivery; a function he says is paralyzed by lack of a medium of communication.

“Amadi state is completely cut off from media houses in the area, there is a number of issues going uncovered in the area. I want to appeal to the international media houses operating in South Sudan to install their correspondents on the ground to raise voices of the poor people,” he added.

Christopher noted that despite improvements in the security sector, basic services such as education, health, clean drinking water, and roads remain a big challenge to the local population.

For his part, Amadi state minister for information and broadcasting John Obote admitted that the state has no radio station which he says makes it difficult for them to disseminate peace messages across the state. However, he says plans are underway to install one.

“I met the media authority and they gave me a go head to look for our frequency and we are working hard to get a radio station. We have been cut off and we need a radio station to help us broadcast messages of peace, reconciliation, and dialogues,” he added.

He said they only have access to shortwave radio stations which broadcast programs for a limited amount of time without covering local issues.