The Deputy Chairperson of the Political Parties’ Council, Lona James Elia, has voiced concern about the increasing involvement of young people in violence and criminal activities and urged them to reject being manipulated for destructive purposes.
Speaking over the weekend at an open knowledge-sharing session at the University of Juba, she emphasized that young people continue to engage in criminal activities through gangs while the government and authorities remain passive.
“Youth have become involved in new forms of criminality, particularly through gangs known as niggers Toronto, but who is responsible?” she asked.
James stressed that young people across the country are being exploited by certain individuals to serve their personal interests and fuel violence. She advised them to resist such negative influence.
“Politicians only use you when we want you to perpetuate and support our interests, but once we get to those positions, we ignore you,” she said. “We are the ones who use you (youth) during elections so that you can make violence, to make havoc to our opponents, and we are the same who ask you to go to the communities to make destruction. But when we get to those positions, we forget about you and only look for you after five years in the next elections.”
James stressed the importance of investing in young people as the only means of prosperity in South Sudan, as they make up 60 to 70 percent of the population.
“If we want this country to change, we need to invest in the youth. We are looking at leadership, not at gender perspective, but in terms of expertise, knowledge, and in terms of what the woman and man bring out,” she said. “This country has to get to a level where women are looked at, not as wives, productive machines, and not as cooking experts, but as professionals.”