Humanitarian agencies that are organizing for activities should be ready to speak to the media publicly, says Auxilio Odume, Director-General in the State Ministry of Information and Communication in Eastern Equatoria State.
The call came after Journalists complained during a training organized by WAPO on Monday in Torit that some NGOs organize activities, but avoid media coverage, Radio Emmanuel reported.
Odume explains that there is no need to deny journalists access to information about such important ongoing activity.
“If is just because of the issue of an activity which was taking place and then such an organization refuse to speak why should such an organization in the first place organize for the meeting, such a workshop. if it doesn’t want to speak of such an activity, so if you organize an activity, you should be able to talks about it even to the media publicly there is no need to refuse when a journalist want to find out of that important activity and at the end of the day you say no I don’t want speak and to make it worse you even sometimes invite the media people in that program then there is a contradiction here but if it is an official statement yes it is taken from the right person”, he says.
The Director-general stresses that there is always protocol when it comes to official speeches as they will find more from these NGOs.
“there are always protocols in any official speeches, this could be the reason so we want to find out what is the reason because sometimes an official statement to be taken must be taken from the right person, so let us not get discourage of why these organization, may be the reason is what are really the speeches that we are looking for”, he notes.
The speaker talked on Monday in Torit during the closing of a one-day media outlet training for women organizations, civil society organizations and media houses organized by WAPO with support from Care International.