Officials drawn from various ministries in Unity State and youth leaders on Wednesday concluded a training in Bentiu Town on the establishment of a Youth Enterprise Development Fund, organized by a local NGO, Active Citizens South Sudan (ACSS), and the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA).
The three-day training brought together over 40 participants, including members of the Unity State Youth Union and officials from the ministry of youth and sport, ministry of gender and social welfare, peacebuilding ministry and the state parliament’s economic committee, to dialogue and also advocate for the allocation of 20 percent of the state budget to the youth and their initiatives.
Gai Makwie Gai, the ACSS program manager, said it is the right of the youth to demand their rights.
“The workshop focused on funding youth enterprise development, and it is part of the 2018 peace agreement that the youth be given their right in accessing funding,” he said.
For his part, William Gatluak, the chairperson of the Economic Committee in the Unity State Legislative Assembly, said they will support all the meeting’s resolutions to ensure that youth are economically empowered and engage in productive work.
“We will support these resolutions so that we reduce the cycle of cattle raiding, which has now become rampant and the main business of the youth in the cattle camps across the state,” he said. “I urge the youth to organize themselves and arrange an engagement with Governor Justice Riek Bim to establish the Youth Enterprise Development Fund in the state as stipulated in Chapter 4 of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement. We want to be the first state to implement this chapter.”
Hon. Gatluak acknowledged the great work done by Active Citizen South Sudan and its partners (NPA) and urged them to continue and reach out to more areas.
It was agreed that the State Youth Union, in liaison with the state youth ministry and parliament’s economic committee, monitor the implementation of dialogue’s resolutions.