Fact-check: Ramciel City’s most misleading master plan photos

South Sudan’s social media platform is flooded with news of the proposed Ramciel City and alleged Tali International Airport, but the images were lifted from the internet sites and not the legitimate government designs. 

Writer: Ghai Aketch

The government’s recent announcement of the Ramciel City project resumption has widely circulated. The excitement is seen in a collection of images shared online allegedly representing the proposed project. 

Ramciel is the proposed capital of South Sudan, located about 250 km north of Juba in Lakes’ State. Its relatively central position in South Sudan makes it more ideal, according to the government. Land issues and the need to have a well-planned modern city also inspired the decision. 

It was initiated by the late Dr. John Garang before his death in 2005. According to him, its implementation would follow the independence of Southern Sudan. So, in 2011 after South Sudan’s independence that year, the Council of Ministers embarked on his plan.

But the project stalled due to Covid-19; fortunately, it resumed this year, according to the Vice President for Infrastructure Cluster Taban Deng Gai, on February 2, 2023. 

“The Ramciel City Master Plan is being carried out by a consortium of Moroccan and Korean Consultants (CID, NOVEC and Seaoyoung). The management of the project is being coordinated by Al Omrane Group of Morocco and the Technical Steering Committee under the High-Level Ministerial Committee,” The office of the Vice President posted in February 2023. 

This has since been exciting news to South Sudanese netizens who went on sharing fake images to depict the Ramciel City plan. The images currently going viral were not legitimately released by the government but were lifted randomly from the internet by some internet users.

Our keyword searches and image verification found that most pictures representing Ramciel are misleading.

Take a look at these trending images misrepresenting the Ramciel City plan and where they originated from. 

Alleged Tali International Airport

The proposed Ramciel City is said to incorporate an International Airport called Tali International Airport(TIA). It is anticipated to serve the city—however, no official artistic impression supports that. But the citizens have since shared the wrong image to represent it. 

NB: all the above images do not represent the Ramciel City plan.

So, which Ramciel  Master Plan design is authentic?

On February 2, 2023, the government, headed up by Vice President Taban Deng Gai and stakeholders, presented the digital design of Ramciel City, adding that the physical design would be shipped to the country abroad in April this year. However, no high-definition image was officially released.

Below  are the official Ramciel City designs

.

Conclusion

The photographed and artistic impressions used to refer to Ramciel City were lifted from the internet, as indicated by this article. Although it has no profound negative impact, it is misinforming the masses. The recent official images for the resumption of the city are available here. 

Fight misinformation on both mainstream and alternative media by not being a victim of fake news. Refrain from sharing content that you are unsure about or don’t know where it comes from to prevent spreading false information. For more information on our fact-checking process, visit https://211check.org/ or send us a WhatsApp message at +211 917 298 255 to present a claim. Our team will fact-check it and respond promptly. #FactsMatter.