By Bida Elly David
National ministry of youth and sports with youth union steering committee, has set benchmarks for national convention to elect new youth leadership in the country.
The national minister of youth and sports, Joseph Geng Akech said while speaking to the media on Tuesday that the convention, with its date yet to be communicated, will include the election of a new body of the union.
“The national ministry of youth and sports is planning to convene its 3rd national youth convention pursuant to ministerial order No. 3/2023.
The minister stated that there will be nomination criteria set to identify the selection of members to participate in the congress across South Sudan.
“I enclose a set of guidelines to facilitate the nomination process of the delegates for the avoidance of doubts and other uncertainties,’’ he stated.
Geng stated in his encyclical that there will be 10 youth representatives and 5 from the administrative areas.
“At least 4 of the 10 and 2 of the 5 delegates must be females from states and administrative areas,’’ the minister stated.
Furthermore, the Minister also limited the age requirement of participants to only those falling under the youth category and not beyond.
“A youth is anybody between the ages of 18 and 35, and the nomination of the delegates is to be done by a state youth body or state ministry of youth and sports, which such body does not exist,’’ he noted.
Never the less, Geng further emphasized that the nomination of the participants ought to be through proper consultations to mitigate passive outcomes.
The process of the nomination must be consultative, inclusive, fair, and transparent; the list will be jointly endorsed by the state minister of youth and sports and the governor or chiefs of the three administrative areas, respectively,’’ he stated.
According to the minister, the necessary requirements needed for the success of the convention have already been met.
He stated that the committee has tabled the budget and other key areas needed for the implementation of the initiative.
Moreover, he also warned the committee against crossing the boundary lines of selection criteria, tasking them with in-depth endorsement.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Mading, the chairperson of the convention preparatory committee, noted that they only wait for the budget to be released to fix the timetable.
He worries that the preparatory committee was mandated for a duration of 90 days and was left with 60 days to accomplish their task.
“There is nothing in the Union’s account, and we are not mandated to mobilize anywhere apart from the funding from the ministry,’’ Mading said
He reiterated that financial constraints were one of the major factors hindering the facilitation of the upcoming national youth convention.
“There are outstanding issues with the convention, and for these reasons, we have attached here to the plan, which contains all guidelines for their priorities,’’ he said.
However, the committee’s chair urged the minister to push stakeholders towards the selection of participants for the congress.
“Write to all stakeholders that will participate in the convention to fulfil their obligation in terms of delegates’ selection and strict adherent to the time line frame and guidelines,’’ Mading urged.