A local NGO, Active Citizens South Sudan, with support from the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), on Thursday concluded a three-day youth-government dialogue on the development of youth enterprises in Unity State’s Rubkona County.
The workshop was attended by 30 participants drawn from youth, women, civil society, traditional chiefs and local leaders, faith-based organizations, persons living with disabilities, and government officials, and discussed the establishment of a youth enterprise development fund at the county and state levels.
Gai Makiew, the Active Citizens South Sudan program manager, said the workshop provided a platform for youth to discuss challenges faced by and pursue solutions for local enterprises.
“The workshop aimed to strengthen participants’ entrepreneurship skills and focused on policies safeguarding local traders and empowering youth to advocate for their rights,” he said.
For his part, Gatwich Gai, the chairperson of the youth in Rubkona County, who was a participant, said that high taxes levied by the local government and unregulated tax collection negatively affect businesses.
“The youth who are doing business are facing a lot of challenges due to high taxes, and they do not have any financial support,” he stated.
Another participant, Chaagor Nyuon, appealed to the government and NGOs to support youth and women in business, and urged peaceful coexistence among people of Unity State.
“We learned new skills to empower and help ourselves in doing business and on our rights as citizens when doing business, because people are being exploited by the taxes in the market,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Gatwich Bul, the deputy executive director of Rubkona County, who represented the local government at the workshop, confirmed that policies are being formulated by the local and national governments to protect the business community.
“We are calling for the approval of a policy document and appealing to NGOs to support the initiative so that the youth in Rubkona County can keep themselves busy rather than staying idle in the market,” he said.