Gola Boyoi Gola, the President of the South Sudan National Youth Union -File photo

The South Sudan National Youth Union has announced that its four-year tenure will come to an end in December 2023, adding that it is preparing to hold a national convention to elect new leadership.

Beng Khamboor, the Secretary of External Affairs of the Union said the convention shall be inclusive and youth-driven.

He said they are planning to seek the views of the young people on which kind of leadership they want.

“In December this year, inshallah (by God’s grace), as South Sudan National Youth Union, we are going to conduct our third convention. Our leadership is coming to an end it has been a very rough four years,” Khamboor announced in Juba on Friday.

He was speaking at a joint news conference during the International Youth Day.

“We have seen it all and we want to say that we are preparing for a convention that is also going to be very inclusive. We will make sure that the voice of young people is captured.”

Khamboor said the outgoing leadership, whose president had just returned from an oversea YALI fellowship, will listen to the suggestions of young people on what kind of leadership they want.

“This time round it has to be a youth driven. We must make sure that we give you guys a forefront and elect the leader that you want.”

Meanwhile, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports has warned against external interference in the affairs of the Youth Union ahead of the national convention.

Peter Baptists said the previous national conventions experienced what he referred to as external forces.

Mr. Baptists warned the youth not to be manipulated, adding that they should use fair means to elect their leaders.

“I don’t want you to be manipulated. In the first national union [Convention] and this one, there were always some external forces,” Baptists said.

“You are the young people you always say don’t give you the chance on matters related to you. It is you now to decide and be strong, but it must be democratically and fair.”