The call was made during a workshop attended by information ministers from the 10 states and the three administrative areas in the capital, Juba on Monday.
Also present at the workshop organized by the NCA were officers from the mobile telecom companies Digitel, MTN and Zain.
Speaking during the two-day workshop, Central Equatoria State Information minister, Andruga Mabe Saverio said several counties experience poor network.
“We have key counties such as Terekeka, Lainya, Morobo that still have problems of network such as Muni, Tombe, Tijor and Tindilo in Terekeka have no network connectivity and there is total communication black out in Lujulo and Panyume payam of Morobo County,” stressed Severio.
“In places where is there is no communication completely, where there is no network, people struggle to communicate, some climb on trees, some climb on hills but that is not the mode to be adopted,” he added.
For his part, Information minister for Eastern Equatoria State, John Elia said the network of the only government owned radio Voice of Eastern Equatoria 97.50 FM is outdated and cannot reach certain places.
“Its coverage drastically reduced because it has not been updated into digital system since its installation in 2008, we are also facing the challenge of power system, sometimes our only state radio goes on and off,” he said.
Elia expressed concerns over poor network coverage across the eight counties.
“There are big coordination gaps at all levels, national, state and telecom companies. There is no harmonization of activities in Eastern Equatoria State,” he said.
Western Equatoria State Minister for Information, Isaac Mursal said Yambio FM is unable to effectively reach out to listeners across the state due to lack of fuel and other important equipment beyond reach of state authorities.
“We cannot operate the radio itself because we do not have funds to buy fuel, we do not have equipment, and it is even difficult to record any information, there is lack of constant capacity building to the staff of the ministry,” he noted.
The official further highlighted the poor coordination between the ministry of information in Western Equatoria State and the national ministry of information that has allegedly left them without necessary support to help fix the problem.
Meanwhile, the Information minister in Abyei Administrative Area, Bolis Koch said poor mobile network coverage has cut off communication especially during emergencies and conflicts in the area.
“Sometimes mobile network disappears for the whole week and it is due to shortage of fuel, Zain mobile company has only one tower in the whole area located South of River Kiir,” Koch said.
“The communal violence between Dinka Ngok and Twic of Warrap state that started in 2020 has put two mobile tower sites out of service and the influx of refugees and returnees has increased communication traffic,” he added.
The Abyei region has been mired in communal violence particularly involving armed youth from Warrap State and Ngok Dinka of Abyei since January 2024.
