A national organization, Active Citizen South Sudan (ACSS), in partnership with the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), on Wednesday conducted a training on youth empowerment and the creation of a youth enterprise development fund in the Unity state capital, Bentiu.
The training came after a campaign organized by youth targeting 3,000 youth, women, chiefs, state parliamentarians, members of independent commissions, local government officials, and other stakeholders in Unity State. The youth held placards emblazoned with: Just20%4youthdevelopment, MyRight, MyVote, MyConstitution, among others.
Gai Makkiew, the ACSS program manager, told Radio Tamazuj on the sidelines of the training that the youth enterprise development fund will create jobs for the youth.
“We are here to conduct this training on youth-led empowerment,” he stated. “The enterprise development fund will create job opportunities for the youth instead of their participating in cattle raiding and criminal activities in Bentiu Town and across Unity State. So, this is a game-changer for them.”
For his part, Steven Mayicyor Kai, Chairperson of the Specialized Committee for Youth, Information, Culture, and Sports at the state parliament, said the youth urged the state government to allocate at least 20 percent of the state budget to the youth enterprise development fund.
“In addition, we are calling for the inclusion of youth in the decision-making process at all levels of state government, inclusion in the permanent constitution-making process, and electoral mechanisms,” he said. “We want the right to be allowed to contest in positions of our choice as youth and the right for women and youth to vote during elections.”
Mayicyor added that the youth used cultural dances, arts, and music to mobilize young people for the event in Bentiu Town.
“We had messages calling for respect for the right to vote, and women’s and the youth’s right to stand for public office and be voted without discrimination,” he concluded.
and then