By Emmanuel Mandella

Authorities in Ezo County, Western Equatoria State, have released 30 detained youth who were charged with idleness and unproductive behaviours

The youth were detained for ten days under a new local order countering unproductive behaviors such as loitering and smoking shisha in the early hours. According to the County Commissioner, Col. Abel Sudani, the release came after the group expressed commitment to change and received basic manual labour training.

Speaking to The City Review on Monday afternoon, Col. Abel stated that, “All are released, and they are now ambassadors to their peers.”

 “They promised to stop taking shisha in the mornings and begin working with their hands.”

The commissioner tasked the traditional leaders to follow up with the youth to confirm they have reformed.

“Building a nation is a collective responsibility, if we don’t sharpen them today, tomorrow we shall have the worst generation and this is what I don’t want in my County and Western Equatoria State at large,” Abel emphasized.

This action in Ezo County sheds light on a deeper national challenge that is youth unemployment, as South Sudan has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the East African region.

In A 2018 UNESCO report, it revealed that nearly 90% of South Sudanese youths are jobless, primarily due to political instability and a weak private sector.

While the South Sudanese government has long acknowledged the issue, little has changed, and in 2012, Information Minister Michael Makuei criticized young people for waiting for government jobs instead of seeking employment in agriculture or the informal sector across the country.

“Manual work in the market will earn you more money than a desk job, even more than me,” Makuei once said.

The 2019 State of Adolescents and Youth Report noted that 70% of the country’s population is under 29, yet most lack access to formal employment or vocational training.

Despite the dire statistics, the Ezo initiative is being seen as a grassroots model for empowering youth.

However, Col. Abel Sudan cautioned that the new county law will continue to penalize those who refuse to engage in productive work.

“We must break the cycle of idleness. Our survival and development depend on it,” he said.