Mary Nawai, the Minister of Youth and Sports speaks at the youth constitutional forum in Juba - Photo credit: Awan Moses / Eye Radio

The Minister of Youth and Sports has raised concerns over the low budget allocated to her ministry, warning that it could slow down youth empowerment programmes across the country.

Minister Mary Nawai Martin expressed her concerns while briefing the Parliamentary Committee on Sports and Youth on the ministry’s budget allocation on Friday.

She noted that the current funding is insufficient to effectively support programmes aimed at strengthening the youth and sports sector and empowering young people nationwide.

“We have a lot of activities for the youth. In terms of capacity building, everyone knows that there is drug addiction among the youth, there is idleness among the youth, so we really need to build the capacity of the youth,” she said, speaking on SSBC.

Minister Mary Nawai Martin emphasized that the ministry has a wide range of planned activities, particularly in capacity building for young people. She highlighted growing challenges such as drug abuse and idleness among the youth, stressing the urgent need for intervention.

The minister further called for increased financial support to enable the ministry to effectively implement programmes that address drug abuse, promote skills development, and strengthen youth participation in peacebuilding initiatives.

“In terms of talking to them concerning the impact of drugs on them, the disadvantages, and also, we need to build their capacities in different skills like peace building,” she added.