The Government of Southern Sudan will soon own a communication gateway, stated the GoSS minister of Telecommunication and Postal Service, Commander Gier Chuang Aluang upon his return from Khartoum, where he conferred with the authorities in the Federal Ministry of Telecommunication and Information.

Minister Gier explained that the meeting agreed in an MOU that the north of Sudan will be given one gateway and Southern Sudan another but one code number (+249) will remain in operation for the whole country. “We want to liberalize telecommunication so we can have control of the flow of information in South Sudan,” he added.

Cdr. Gier further reiterated that a National Telecommunication Corporation regulatory body comprising of the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan will be formed, as stipulated in the CPA and as agreed by the Joint NCP/SPLM Executive Committee. He added that the National Telecommunication Corporation of the Sudan shall be reorganized because Southern Sudan is to constitute 28 per cent of the regulatory body.

The branch in Southern Sudan will be responsible for the control of the FM radio stations and radio communication in the South. Meanwhile, he said the postal service will remain under the Federal Ministry of Communication and Information with four main offices established in Halfa, Port Sudan, Juba with Khartoum as the main hub.