First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar - courtesy

The Council of Ministers has formed a committee to address the grievances of youth over unemployment.

The seven-member high level committee will be headed by the First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar.

Other members will include two vice presidents; the Minister of National Security, Mamur Obuto, Minister of Labor James Hoth Mai, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Peter Mayen, and the Minister of Youth and Sports, Albino Bol.

The Deputy Minister of Information, Baba Medan Konyi said the committee will look into the grievances of the youth over unemployment.

“They will follow the issue not only in Torit but also in other parts of the country to address it,” Baba Medan told the press after the Council of Ministers in Juba on Friday.

Tension has been high in Eastern Equatoria State after youths there locally known as Monyomiji protested and gave UN agencies and NGOs an ultimatum to leave.

They claimed to be advocating for the employment of natives in the NGO sector.

There has been an increase in the number of attacks on humanitarian workers in the country over alleged employment discrimination.

Similar concerns had been raised in Upper Nile, and Unity states.

Early this week, the vice president in charge of the gender and youth, Rebecca Nyandeng visited Torit over the same issue.

She told youths there not to target NGO’s but rather confront the government which has a primary mandate of providing services to its citizens.