6 February 2013 - By helping a local theatre group record announcements about South Sudan's land tenure system, UN Radio Miraya was assisting the government to increase awareness of vital concerns, the company's leader said today.

Simon Bingo said there had been much misunderstanding on land issues since independence, and that the radio campaign by Giant Media Theatre Company was intended to sensitize the population and help resolve them.

"Some say that the land belongs to the people. Others say it belongs to the government," said Mr. Bingo. "It is important, especially in a new country, for people to know what the constitution says."

Giant Media Theatre Company was contracted by Tetra Tech to produce the announcements and a number of short productions for the radio campaign on community stations across the country in English, Simple Arabic, Dinka and Zande.

Tetra Tech implements the USAID-funded South Sudan Rural Land Governance (SRLG) Project, which provides technical assistance for the South Sudan Land Commission (SSLC) in reforming and rebuilding that sector.

According to the organization's website, decades of civil war destroyed many of South Sudan's institutions of governance, resulting in the breakdown of systems regulating land administration.

Realizing that no other studio in the country could provide technical expertise and quality comparable to Miraya's, the group recently approached the radio's management to assist in recording the announcements and short productions over a period of three days.

"This is what we are here for," said Radio Miraya Editor-in-Chief Kevin Bellwood, adding that the radio was reaching out to "lend a hand of friendship and help".