The Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS) will assist the government in drawing up a list of individuals who are authorized to work as journalists, according to a letter sent by AMDISS to media houses.

The process, known as 'accreditation', will give the country's National Security Service and the Ministry of Information the power to decide who is and who is not a journalist.

Donor-funded AMDISS decided to cooperate with the security service in implementing this new initiative following a meeting with security personnel in which the latter insisted that accreditation was “one of the most essential items.”

Although accreditation by the Ministry of Information is normal for visiting foreign journalists, most South Sudanese journalists do not work with any government-issued ID card or accreditation card.

AMDISS Secretary Nhial Bol wrote in a letter to media houses dated 17 June that a committee composed of seven members of security, the media and the ministry two weeks ago met and “approved the idea of accrediting journalists through the Ministry of Information.”

Nhial, who is also chief editor of the Citizen newspaper, requested media houses “to bring to AMDISS a list of credible journalists from your organization to be submitted to the Ministry of Information.” He explained that AMDISS “was taked by the committee to ensure that media houses present lists of their journalists to the Ministry of Information within two weeks time.”

AMDISS' latest initiative represents a change of policy for the media organization.

Before the start of the current civil war, AMDISS and the Editors' Forum rejected Minister of Information Michael Makuei's demands to accredit journalists saying there was no legal basis to do so. In early December 2013, the main daily Arabic newspaper, Al Masier, threatened a blackout protest rather than comply with orders to accredit journalists. Al Masier has since shut down.

Separately, Radio Tamazuj has learnt that radio journalist George Livio Bahara is still being without charge in the capital Juba after being transferred from detention in Wau since nearly a year ago.

In another development, last week following the publication of investigative reports linking President Salva Kiir to ABMC construction company, the National Security Service was asked to monitor local newspapers to ensure that they not re-publish anything from the investigative reports, which were initially published online by Radio Tamazuj.

Sources say that ABMC and the security service have sought to find out how information on this issue was leaked to the press. More than four days after the publication of these reports the government has not responded publicly. Employees of ABMC have been directed not to speak to the media.