Spirit FM, one of the few functioning Radio stations in South Sudan’s Yei town, the administrative headquarters of the newly created Yei river state, has gone off air over multiple factors.
The immediate cause of ceasing to function remains speculative. Some attribute the cause to administrative matters, including fuel shortage and technical glitches linked to transmission system.
The station was one of the stations widely used for transmitting public and private messages, including announcements, talk shows and urgent messages. This comes after telephone operators and residents complained of experiencing difficulties with unreliable network attributed to security matters which unable operators to freely access their facilities and areas of operations with transmission equipment along the supplying routes, including Juba-Yei road.
Some of the workers have received the stoppage of the station to function mixed reactions; with some saying it will have negative impacts on the activities of both private and public institutions in the area.
“We know that the shutdown of our radio will negatively affect our clients but the situation is beyond our control,” said one of the radio workers.
The closure preceded by Liberty FM and EPC Radio which ceased to operate several months ago. Easter FM is the only on air radio but expected to go off air should it fail to secure fuel supply.
YECO the only power supplier in the area has stopped operations over difficulties in getting fuel. Local residents say the company had experienced difficulties accessing fuel from neighbouring Uganda due to Insecurity along the major roads. Yei River state information minister Stephen Ladu Onesmo acknowledged challenges facing radio stations.
The official said he has been in contact with management of Eye Radio to appeal to them to install an FM repeater in Yei County. “Media plays an important role but now that all the radio stations are going off air in Yei, we are calling on Eye Radio to come to Yei to help the situation,” said Ladu