By Kei Emmanuel Duku
Readers of No. 1 Citizen Newspaper, both within and outside Juba City, have lauded its consistent news dissemination and role in creating job opportunities for youth across the country.
James Duku Moindi, a frequent reader and neighbour of No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper, made these remarks during the company’s five-year anniversary celebration held in Juba on Monday afternoon.
No. 1 Citizen Newspaper began as an online media outlet on September 23, 2019, before becoming fully operational as a print publication on July 14, 2020.
Moindi emphasized that the anniversary is worth celebrating as it allows management to reflect on the progress made and challenges encountered since its establishment.
When the company was founded, it had fewer than five staff members. However, it has since grown significantly, now employing a total of 28 individuals.
Moindi, whose daughter works with the company as a casual laborer, expressed appreciation to the Board of Directors for an initiative that has gone beyond informing and educating readers, also providing employment to young people.
“This is an opportunity for the locals of Black A, because when they relocated here, the first priority was to give our sons and daughters slots in some of the work that does not require much expertise. This is exactly what we want; this is the true meaning of promoting home-grown talents,” said Moindi.
Kiden Stella Mandela, No. 1 Citizen Newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief and Executive Director, described the country’s media landscape as challenging, citing threats faced by media owners and journalists.
She recalled that even before venturing into the market, the paper started during the COVID-19 lockdown. Despite this, the company has overcome numerous shocks since then.
The Executive Director added that when the paper launched on July 14, 2019/2020, it had one editor and two reporters. Since then, the company has created over 25 jobs, signalling its commitment to supporting the government’s agenda in youth job creation.
She narrated that her inspiration, along with that of other founders, is deeply rooted in empowering girls and women so they can advocate for their rights.
“Managing a print publication as a female person is not easy. But through my past internship experience, I’ve seen ladies harassed, male editors not giving a listening ear to females, women being harassed, and worse, these girls or women who are harassed have to find their story angles on their own without the support of their editors,” recalled Mandela.
She stated that journalism is one of the most challenging careers to practice in South Sudan due to low pay, limited access to information, intimidation, and harassment of reporters and media owners.
Despite the country having an Access to Information Act, she noted that some government officials still prevent journalists from conducting interviews contrary to the cat
The Managing Editor appealed to government officials to grant journalists free access to information without restriction.
“There is no good working environment for journalists; others are harassed or killed if you are unlucky. But we strive to deliver information to the public despite the challenging environment,” she added.
No. 1 Citizen Newspaper’s Online Editor, Buruga Vincent, used the opportunity to advice colleagues in the field not to abandon the industry for greener pastures with humanitarian organizations.
“Our work is like priesthood because you have given up yourself to work for the society. So, let only death take you away from your profession, not leaving the industry for better pay elsewhere,” he noted.
He stated that South Sudan is one of the most fragile countries in the Eastern African region for practicing journalism due to the series of threats journalists face daily.
Meanwhile, Bida Lokoyome, Lainya County Press Secretary in the Commissioner’s office, who also serves as the Speaker of the Lainya County Legislative Assembly, emphasized that media, as the fourth estate, plays a crucial role in transforming the community. Without media, government programs would be frustrated.
The County Director of Information for Lainya County noted that media practitioners in the country operate in a fragile environment, and therefore, it is high time the government started protecting them.
“Media is the ring belt of the community; without the media, government cannot go ahead. Media needs to be respected because many times journalists have been misquoted to be spies, yet in actual sense, it is not, because the media/journalists inform the citizens about government programs,” stated Lokoyome.
He urged media owners and journalists to continue pursuing their careers in the industry without giving up, for the good of educating and informing the public.
Nelson Lomeri, a Member of the Central Equatoria State Anti-Corruption Commission and a member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Party (SPLM), commended No. 1 Citizen Newspaper for its dedicated efforts in ensuring that the local population in rural areas across the country is adequately represented and its content reaches remote parts of South Sudan.
“The founders of this company have contributed a lot to this nation’s building because locals can easily access information and voice out challenges facing them in their respective locations, and that is all about nation-building,” said Lomeri.
Lomeri appealed to media owners and journalists across the country that despite the threats and other challenges facing the industry, the only way to protect themselves is by sticking to the truth in the storytelling process.