South Sudan Info.Min. and RTGoNU spokesperson, Michael Makuei talks to Eye Radio in Juba -October 23, 2020 | Credit| Lou Nelson/Eye Radio

The minister of information has described some youth in the country as “lazy” and asked them to look for private-sector jobs rather than waiting for government institutions to employ them.

Michael Makuei claims that young people in the country shun work because of laziness.

“I have been telling them that you are lazy [because] our people all expect white-collar jobs [but] the government will never give you anything,” he said.

Laziness is described as an unwillingness to do daily activities despite having the ability to act or to exert oneself.

Makuei said young people should stop wasting a lot of time playing dominos and sipping tea under trees, and expecting government appointments.

“What you will be getting in the market -doing manual work, using your muscles, will bring you more money than any other person, even better than me,” he asserted.

“The salary that is given to you by the government per month, you can get it per day in the private sector.”

The Minister identified areas he believes are ripe for young people to tap in to find employment or invest their time in.

“Look for labor work [Tulba] is everywhere… in these construction companies, there are a lot of constructions taking place.”

He was speaking at a press conference in Juba on Tuesday…

An assessment conducted by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO in 2018, showed that the majority of young people in South Sudan are jobless.

Reports also suggest that the youth – who are under the age of 29 – make up 70 percent of the country’s population.

And according to the UN agency’s Global Initiative on Out-of-School Children survey, 95 percent of the secondary school level students are also young people.

However, UNESCO said due to the atmosphere of conflict and political and economic instability, the young people lack employment opportunity.

According to the South Sudan State of Adolescents and Youth Report released in 2019, ninety percent of the youths do not have formal employment due to lack of vibrant private sector opportunities in agriculture, tourism and natural resources.

“We must change our way of thinking,” Makuei said during a media briefing in Juba on Tuesday, Jan.19.

“We must think of how best we can make our livelihood -not to sit under trees and continue sipping tea.”

In March last year, the Minister of Public Service and Human Resource Development, Joseph Bakasoro said youth employment will be a top priority of his ministry.

In 2015, President Salva Kiir said there were no enough jobs in the government to employ more than 3,000 fresh graduates from the University of Juba.

In October last year, Michael Makuei encouraged the population to embark on agriculture and other casual work to support the economy.

This is after admitting that the government alone can’t fix the economy, saying citizens should not “wait for the government to resolve” it.

“It is true that the economic situation in South Sudan is biting. Citizens should not just be sitting and waiting for the government to resolve issues for them,” Makuei told Eye Radio.