The new Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports has been sworn in, by Eastern Equatoria State Government.
Margaret Idwa Okuye replaces Stella Iromo who was the state Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports since March.
Speaking during the swearing in Ceremony, Louis Lobong Lojore tells the new Minster to encourage the young people to be Job creators, than waiting for collar jobs.
“So Margret we believe you will be able to give the youth the wisdom, talk and teach them, most of our youth think that they are not getting job, and the job they are talking is white colour job, working with NOGs, being a minister or a politician, and other fields are not source of job for them because is not paying enough money for them, while other youth from neighbouring countries come to south Sudan get job and money, through cutting trees, make them timbers or charcoal and sell very expensive, if you see those once transporting timbers and charcoal here are all foreigners” , said the Governor.
Lobong advises youth to value any type of job to earn their living.
“They also buy food from A choli area, fetch water from Hinatie just less than one kilometre sell to us here in Torit, they fetch water from the river Nile in Juba sell at any price and the youth are saying there is no Job but where are the youth, Job doesn’t mean sitting in the office any activity that enables you to get money is job, what the Americans always talk about creating Job is not in the offices but is labour job”, he added.
Margaret Idwa Okuye vows to work hard in the ministry to ensure all challenges facing the youths are addressed.
She encourages them to create their own jobs instead of being idle under trees.
“Youth open your years; you are constituted 73% population of this country, and with that percentage we are having a lot of challenges but I want to tell you youth, those problem can be handle within a short period, Youth create employment by yourself,all these places there are no jobs even if you go around to other places, even if you go to America ,that’s why in America people have resorted to minor work to sustain the life, why are we not sustaining our lives, the youths I am talking to you, they keep sitting under the tree ,why are we sitting under the tree. Youths must learn how to create a job by themselves, don’t wait for colour jobs, 73% and NGOs cannot accommodate you all, but we have to learn how to do that by ourselves”.
This is the third time Margaret Idwa Okuye is serving in the state government as a Minister.
In 2015, she served as the Minister of Gender and Social Development and also served as the Minister of Information Culture, Youth and Sports in the defunct Torit State.
She has also been appointed by the current transitional government of national unity in the state as Minister of Culture youth and Sports Eastern Equatoria State.