The South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) station in the Western Bahr el Ghazal State capital, Wau, on Monday resumed operations after eight years off air, since 2017, following the civil war that engulfed the country.
The station suffered vandalism and theft of vital equipment, including cables.
Jacob Wol, a former employee at the station who is now a lawyer, helped the facility acquire the necessary cables to resume broadcasts.
State Information Minister Samuel Nicola Cornelio told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that even though the station has restarted broadcasting, a lot of renovation is still required.
“A lawyer called Jacob managed to provide us with support, although I do not know where he got the support as an individual,” he explained. “He came with his staff, and right now, SSBC Wau is operating, and we are just testing. “Yesterday (Monday), I founded the Wau SSBC operating, and when I told the governor, he was surprised.”
“The official launch will take place this month, but the station is still facing some challenges, which require only USD 5,000,” he added.
Nicola also said the station needs to be fenced off to protect it from vandalism and theft.
He appealed to well-wishers to support the station so the state government can use it to conduct civic awareness on the upcoming elections, cultural heritage, and agricultural activities, and to disseminate laws.
On his part, Alor Deng Koor, the director of the SSBC station in Wau, confirmed the limited resumption of operations.
“The station went down since 2017 due to the armed conflict from 2013 to 2017 when it was looted,” he explained. “That was when I was only the director of radio,” he said. “When I was promoted to being the director for TV and radio, I managed, together with all the staff and other friends, to ensure that the station returned to air. We worked together and managed to do general cleaning. The station is at the stage of testing now.”
“Anyone willing to help us should come forward until our national government or other well-wishers can intervene,” Deng added.