By Chol D. Johnson
The Deputy Minister of Information, Communication Technology and Postal Services (ICT&PS), David Yauyau, has promised to improve radio coverage in remote areas.
Speaking on Friday during the World Radio Day celebration in Juba, Yauyau, pledged to address the limited radio outreach in hard-to-reach parts of the country.
“We will solve the outreach coverage of radio to remote areas in the country with minister of ICT,” he promised.
Yauyau said people should focus on the future of the country rather than talking about past history, and instead promote creative and constructive information.
The event was attended by the Country Director of Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), government officials, radio station managers, and journalists to commemorate World Radio Day under the theme, “Radio, AI and Community Voices in Service of Peace and Inclusion.”
He said people should not worry about Artificial Intelligence (AI), as AI was generated by humans to make work easier.
“Don’t worry about AI, it was generated by human being,” Yauyau said.
Yauyau noted that AI should not be used as an opportunity by media houses for the wrong reasons, but should instead be used to make work easier while maintaining professional ethics.
He urged radio managers to be critical in developing positive programs that promote development, peacebuilding, and economic growth.
“I urge radio managers to be critical enough to create positive programs that led to Sustainable Development Gaols (SDGs) in the country,” Yauyau urged.
He also encouraged journalists to gather impactful stories rather than focusing only on covering events.
“I urge journalists to be hunters for impact stories rather than follow hotels programs to make stories,” he urged.
Yauyau encouraged media houses to broadcast in the languages of the country’s 64 tribes in order to educate, inform, and entertain audiences with cultural songs and stories.
He further added that to achieve development goals, media houses and journalists should cooperate with the government.
He appreciated NPA for its support to South Sudan since the liberation struggle and for continuing to support the people of South Sudan.
Thomas Gatkuoth Nyak, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Information, Communication Technology and Postal Services, reiterated that NPA has been supporting South Sudan since the revolution.
Gatkuoth said NPA is still the leading organization supporting South Sudan, from traditional radio to Artificial Intelligence technology.
“The NPA is still with us up to now, leading us from those traditional radios to now more technology facility called the International Artificial Intelligence,” he said.