At 101.5FM, about 75 per cent of the over 400,000 inhabitants of the Tonj area are now listening to Radio Miraya, run by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

“Now we can listen to Radio Miraya and we will be able to participate in the phone-in programmes so that we can also make our contributions to the peace process in our country,” Deng Madut, a local fan said as he listened to the Miraya Drive Time show on his mobile phone.

Transmission via the 300-kilowatt equipment, which is part of Radio Miraya’s expansion project in South Sudan, currently spans a radius of about 30 kilometers across the Tonj area.

“This is a very good idea and it’s coming at the right time because we are about to form a new government in South Sudan,” said Peter Alor Gok, a local trader. “Radio Miraya will help us to know what the new government will look like and we will know our leaders,” he said.

Thanking the UN Mission for extending its broadcasting services to Tonj, Governor Matthew Mathian Mathiang Magordit said his citizens would now be able to listen to fair and balanced information about the peace process in the country.