By Deng Ghai Deng
Patrick Oyet Charles, President of the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS), has explained why his administration has not fulfilled its constitutional obligation to organize an Annual General Assembly Meeting (AGM) for journalists.
According to the UJOSS’ constitution, the leadership is required to hold an AGM every year.
Oyet explained that when he assumed office three years ago, UJOSS had only $300 in its account and no office space.
“General Assembly Meeting is a genuine call and we totally agree with those calling for it. According to our constitution, we are supposed to have a general assembly every year,” Oyet said.
“We failed to do so because, when we went to UJOSS, we only had $300 in our account. We didn’t even have an office—so you can imagine if you don’t have an office, what is going to be a priority: is it the AGM or first having an office? Our priority has been to establish an office, have offices across the country, and then we could move to things like the AGM,” he continued.
Oyet further mentioned that UJOSS relies on donor funding, which has not been forthcoming for organizing the AGM.
He estimated that the cost of holding an AGM would be between $20,000 and $30,000, as it involves bringing representatives from the 10 states and 3 administrative areas, covering travel and accommodation expenses.
“Tickets these days are expensive; places that used to cost $100 are now $150, except maybe Torit. We have to prepare for accommodation for days, sometimes even for a week,” he added.
This comes after, George Ruot, former Program Coordinator for UJOSS, called for the conduct of AGM, accusing the current leadership of corruption, mismanagement of funds, altering the union’s constitution, and failing to convene a general assembly for three years.
UJOSS has refuted these allegations, maintaining that they are working to address the financial and organizational issues at hand.
In response to criticism, Oyet said that despite these challenges, the AGM will be conducted before the end of the year.