Speaking at a reception ceremony for the new Minister of Roads and Bridges, Peter Lam Both, on Wednesday, November 19, Minister Dak addressed the growing demand from youth for senior politicians to step aside.

Minister Dak drew a clear distinction between the two roles: while civil servants are subjected to mandated retirement, politicians are not.

“We have been told by youth that our time has come to leave politics, we [old politicians], and allow them to lead,” Minister Dak said. “After all, in politics, people don’t retire from politics. You only leave politics when your opponent defeats you in an election.”

He contrasted this with civil service, noting that he and a colleague, James Hoth, the Minister of Labour, still have years left before reaching public service retirement age (five years and two years, respectively).

Dak cited his own experience in public service, recalling his appointment as Governor of Upper Nile at the age of 39, and stressed that he never demanded his seniors retire.

He appealed to the nation’s youth to engage with the older political generation through constructive criticism, arguing that their calls for outright retirement overlook the reality of political life.

Concluding his statement, the Minister urged young people to focus on the quality of engagement: “I am appealing to young people to continue to criticise us constructively but not insult us.”