CEPO Director Edmund Yakani | Photo: Awan Moses/Eye Radio

The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) has pledged to offer 7.5 million South Sudan pounds ($1.500) to support Eye Radio’s efforts to return live coverage of the Kenya-mediated peace talks between the government and opposition groups.

CEPO Executive Director Edmund Yakani announced the donation on Monday and called on other well-wishers and stakeholders to help sponsor the station’s live coverage of the day-to-day negotiation process.

He emphasized the importance of media in informing and updating the South Sudanese people about the Tumaini Initiative aimed at bringing on board opposition groups for an inclusive transition to democracy.

“Radio plays a dominant and outstanding role in creating communication between citizens and elite groups, being civil society, being stakeholders. As CEPO – one of stakeholders there, we will offer 1,500 USD to ensure that Eye Radio is on the ground,” he said on Eye Radio’s Dawn Show.

Eye Radio was covering the Tumaini Initiative from June this year, but due to financial constraints, its team returned to Juba.

While in Nairobi, the station’s journalists managed to initiate live broadcast of the views of all the stakeholders in the peace process and provided timely updates.

“In South Sudan right now, the number one mode of communication is radio, because Radio carry accuracy compared to social media. When Eye Radio was there, Eye Radio was able to relay lively what is happening on the ground.”

“I will take this opportunity to appeal to our friends of South Sudan that we need to see Eye Radio sponsored to go to Tumaini to attend, to report directly from there.”

Mr. Yakani said he will try to encourage the mediation team to provide an opportunity for South Sudan media to cover their peace process.