By Wani Michael
Juba, South Sudan
August 29,2021—Fellow young people in South Sudan and diaspora, we salute you in the name of our beloved Country and the foundation of our liberation struggle that claimed millions of lives who sacrificed for the independence of South Sudan. We would like to address you on the dire political, economic and social situation in our Country. As young people, we have the duty and responsibility to restore peace, stability and prosperity to our people.
We are a nonviolent youth movement that will peacefully advocate for change in South Sudan and our membership is drawn from all the ten states of South Sudan.
We the Gumna Shabab;
Applaud the courageous step taken by various youth groups in denouncing violence and calling for an end to the imposed endless wars on the people of this great nation South Sudan by our selfish leaders who betrayed the long struggle of our Country.
Fully associate ourselves and declare our full membership to the People’s Coalition for Civil Action.
Appreciate the resilience of our people despite the deep pain inflicted on them by their own leaders, they have not given up in the full realization of our founding fathers and mothers dream of a free, democratic and prosperous South Sudan.
Recognizing that the youth constitute over 72% of the population and are always used by the self-serving political elite to either gain or maintain power. As youth we have been used as firewood by the corrupt leaders to fuel the conflict and create divisions. While they enjoy their spoils, us the youth remain without meaningful representation and participation in the governance of this Country.
Applaud our hardworking brothers and sisters in the different security organs and we sympathize with the dire conditions imposed on them with deplorable living conditions and a very small insulting salary that even doesn’t even come for months. The system has reduced our once celebrated powerful army into a laughing, undermined and underrated army in the region. Our soldiers are reduced to cutting trees and burning charcoal for their survival.
Denounce all forms of violence and the imposed suffering of our people. We must see an end to conflict and violence in South Sudan, both at the national and grassroots level. We are tired of endless peace agreements that focus only on positions and power that fail to address the root cause of conflict and fail to bring us peace.
Urge the regional bodies (IGAD, EAC), Africa Union and the International Partners and the friends of South Sudan to pressure our leaders to listen to the voices of their citizens and respect their will. Most importantly, demand that fundamental human rights and freedoms are respected.
Condemn the leadership for sponsoring, supporting and spearheading corruption and looting of our public resources. All these things are done at the expense of our suffering people, they decided to handover services delivery to the international Community whereas they continue to loot and misappropriate state funds with impunity.
To our fellow young people, our Country is faced with huge challenges that demand our actions, commitments and actions. Our youthful generation has a responsibility to put an end to the continued untold suffering inflicted on our people.
The GUMNA SHABAB demand for the following to be done immediately;
- Complete silencing of the guns and free movement of our people.
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Timely payment of civil servants, medical workers, soldiers and other security personnel salaries and full payment of their arrears too. And complete review of their salaries scale to meet the market demands.
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Opening of the civil and political spaces for citizen to meaningful participate in determining the future of our Country.
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Full implementation of the National Dialogue resolutions.
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Put an end to the continued robbery by the traffic police.
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Remove the unnecessary Juba City Council taxes on small scale businesses, boda bodas and taxis drivers as well as creating a Covid-19 stimulus package for youth and women.
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Vigorous economic reforms and prioritizing the youth unemployment issue.
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Robust and inclusive security sector reforms.
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Develop the spirit of Constitutionalism and Rule of Law; respect to all fundamental freedoms and rights.
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Thorough audit of all oil revenues since 2011 and recovery of all stolen and looted South Sudanese resources funds and all those found guilty must face the full force of the law.
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Transparency and accountability on our natural resources management. Corrupt officials must face the full force of the law.
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Prioritizing youth empowerment programs such as vocational education, Youth Fund, youth-to-youth dialogues, youth representation and participation in decision making process.
Thank you.
On behalf of the group;
Wani Michael
Victory is certain, GUMNA SHABAB!
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