{"id":47190,"date":"2026-08-24T15:31:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T13:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=47190"},"modified":"2026-08-24T16:29:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T14:29:21","slug":"ajou-urges-officials-to-make-public-information-more-accessible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/24\/ajou-urges-officials-to-make-public-information-more-accessible\/","title":{"rendered":"Ajou urges officials to make public information more accessible"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Yiep Joseph\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Media Authority has called for a more direct relationship between government officials and journalists.<\/p>\n

The body cited that delays in providing information can make it harder for the public to understand government policies and activities.<\/p>\n

Media Authority Managing Director Ajou Loul Akuei appealed during a media and opinion leaders\u2019 networking event organised by the Juba City Council.<\/p>\n

Ajou said officials responsible for specific departments or programs should be able to respond to journalists without unnecessarily sending them through several offices to obtain basic information.<\/p>\n

He specifically urged Juba City Council officials to improve communication with media houses and avoid restricting journalists who are seeking information in the public interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour Worship, I am just requesting, as the Media Authority, that we do not want you to restrict access to information for media houses,” Ajou said.<\/p>\n

He said journalists can sometimes approach an official with questions only to be directed to another office, a practice he said can make the process unnecessarily difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome journalists can come looking for information, and they will be told, for example, by someone responsible, \u2018I cannot tell you. Go to the office of the mayor\u2019. In this case, you need to give some powers so that they can talk directly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ajou also urged government officials not to assume that journalists asking questions about the running of public institutions are attempting to produce damaging reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen media houses are looking for some information, for example, how the institution is being managed, it does not mean they are looking for something negative. They are actually looking for information to inform the public about your policies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said a stronger working relationship between the media and city authorities would help journalists explain government programs and decisions to residents more effectively.<\/p>\n

The appeal comes as the Juba City Council seeks to strengthen engagement with journalists and opinion leaders.<\/p>\n

The networking event provided an opportunity for officials and media practitioners to discuss how communication between the two sides can be improved.<\/p>\n

Ajou, however, also placed responsibility on journalists to use information appropriately.<\/p>\n

He urged reporters to maintain neutrality and professionalism when covering government institutions and other public issues.<\/p>\n

On his part, Juba City Council Mayor Christopher Sarafino Wani Swaka vowed to ensure that journalists are allowed to get information.<\/p>\n

He cautioned journalists to remain professional in their work.<\/p>\n

The Media Authority chief said constructive engagement between officials and journalists should ultimately serve the public, allowing citizens to receive timely information about policies, services, and decisions that affect them.<\/p>\n

The call for improved access, therefore, places emphasis not only on the willingness of officials to provide information but also on the responsibility of journalists to handle that information professionally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Yiep Joseph\u00a0 The Media Authority has called for a more direct relationship between government officials and journalists. The body cited that delays in providing information can make it harder for the public to understand government policies and activities. Media Authority Managing Director Ajou Loul Akuei appealed during a media[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":47191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,84,85,80,79,4,86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-finance","category-markets","category-national","category-news","category-politics","category-technology-business"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ajou-Loul-Akuei-Managing-Director-Media-Authority.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47190"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47200,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47190\/revisions\/47200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}