The Northern Bahr el Ghazal State has suspended ongoing arrangements for a planned youth convention over gender representation and other irregularities, a government official said on Tuesday evening.
The state ministry of culture, youth, and sports said the steering committee arranging the convention failed to consider gender representation and other queries from county commissioners.
Deng Wek Wekdit, the state minister of culture, youth, and sports, told Radio Tamazuj that his ministry has sent back the nomination lists with instructions to include five female delegates per county.
“After we got this problem, we sat and decided to send all the lists of delegates back to the various counties so that the county commissioners can consider gender balance because these lists from various counties had weak gender representation,” Minister Wek said. “Each county has sent around one to three female representatives out of fifteen delegates. They are supposed to be five per county.”
The minister also said he will soon establish a commission to discuss the amount of money to be paid by those contesting leadership positions.
Velantino Makuei Deng who chairs the Northern Bahr el Ghazal youth steering committee said the youth ministry was making unfounded allegations and that his committee is waiting for the governor to fix a date for the convention.
“That is an allegation from the ministry and we are currently waiting for Governor Tong Akeen Ngor to fix the date for the convention where the youth leaders will be elected,” Makuei said.
A youth, Bona Bak, accused the leader of the steering committee of not collaborating with the ministry.
“What Makuei is doing now in my own opinion is not right because every youth activity is handled by the ministry of youth as the line ministry,” Bak said. “Makuei is the chairperson of the steering committee but whenever there is a move, he can inform the minister and director-general in the ministry. But he used to submit all reports to the National Youth Union without consulting the state youth minister.”