Awak Bior Ajang, Deputy Chairperson of the Constitutional Review Commission - Credit: Obaj Okuj/Eye Radio - Jan 22, 2024

The media has a vital role in the constitution-making process by disseminating information, so people are informed, the deputy chairperson of the Constitutional Review Commission has said.

Awak Bior Ajang told reporters in Juba on Tuesday that the constitution-making process is a national interest and the media as well as all other stakeholders should contribute to the process.

She emphasized the need for South Sudan media outlets to work closely with the body in disseminating its activities to the public.

Awak says the media is crucial in ensuring that the process is transparent by making the progress known to the public.

“My message to the media and indeed to the public and everyone in South Sudan is that this is a national project, it is not something that we take lightly,” Awak told Eye Radio in an exclusive interview Tuesday.

“Some of us enjoy politics, and it’s tempting to be provocative. We can have this debate, but we need to not be provocative for the sake of it,” she said.

“I think that in the national interest when it comes to making a constitution, the media and all other stakeholders should look at the best way that we can make this possible for the country.”

“It means working together and the media can help by for example disseminating information about the constitution-making process, so people are informed.

“We would want to invite the media to all of our events so that what we do is transparent. The progress for making is known to the public and known to media and it is a constant relationship.”

In December last year, President Salva Kiir tasked members of the Reconstituted National Constitutional Review Commission to expedite work on drafting the country’s new permanent constitution ahead of the general elections.

The Head of State pledged his commitment to providing adequate support to the Commission to achieve a successful constitutional-making process to pave the way for a new political dispensation.