Government urges partners to help empower youths

The government of South Sudan has called out on partners and stakeholders to help in the empowerment of youths across the country.
Participants seen during the opening of the two days meeting at Imperial Hotel

By Simon Deng

The government of South Sudan has called out on partners and stakeholders to help in the empowerment of youths across the country.

In the call, the Undersecretary in the Ministry of Youths and Sports, Deborah Akech tasked both national and international partners to ensure they roll out programs that empower youths to all corners of South Sudan.

“The ministry alone cannot do all the things that people need in this country,” Akech said during a consultative meeting in Juba yesterday.

“We need our partners, we need our other government institutions, we need each one of you, the national NGOs, the international organizations,” she said.

The consultative meeting was convened in the capital to discuss strategies on youth empowerment programs, aimed at fostering collaboration and partnership in implementing youth development agenda in the country.

Akech noted that the empowerment of youths in South Sudan can be undertaken with very minimal cost, with services of professionals including engineers and carpenters offering skills voluntarily to young people. 

“We have been crying about youth unemployment, but if we all work together, put our resources together and make sure that we achieve that goal,” she said.

Akech said the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is working closely with the Ministry of Youth and Sport in line with empowerment of groups.

She called on organizations to open up training opportunities to help empower young people.

 “We have 35% affirmative action. When you have set 35%, make sure that 35% has been achieved, then you reduce it down to 20% until you completely eliminate the affirmative action and people compete on a level ground,” Akech said.

“We have an internship program that we are working on with UNFPA about youth empowerment. I urge each of you here who are representing your various organizations to please come forward and we work together for our common goal to empower young people.”  

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