Partnership, Not Control: Why Preserving NCAA’s Autonomy Strengthens Twic East Community
NCAA Chairlady Ruth Muka Ahou Abit Arok
By Amin-Daai Wal Athïu, Melbourne, Australia
Monday, 27 July 2026 (PW) — The ongoing constitutional discussion between the Twic East Youth Association (TEYA) and the NyanCit Arialbeek Association (NCAA) presents an important opportunity for the Twic East community to reflect on the kind of institutions it wishes to build for future generations. The debate should not be reduced to personalities or portrayed as a contest between the current leaderships of TEYA and NCAA. Rather, it is a constitutional conversation about how two organisations committed to serving the same community can cooperate while respecting each other’s institutional integrity.
Both TEYA and NCAA were established to advance the welfare of Twic East youth. They share a common purpose of promoting development, leadership, community service and social cohesion. Their relationship, therefore, should not be characterised by rivalry but by partnership. The question before the community is not whether the two organisations should work together—they undoubtedly should—but whether that cooperation should be founded on equality and mutual respect or on constitutional supervision and control.
Much of the recent controversy has been fuelled by misunderstandings surrounding the proposed amendments to the TEYA constitution. Some believed that NCAA was being abolished or absorbed into TEYA. The proposed amendments do not appear to go that far. They continue to recognise NCAA as a women-led organisation with its own leadership and elections. The real issue lies elsewhere. It concerns whether an organisation can genuinely be regarded as independent when another organisation has the authority to approve its bylaws, influence its governance and exercise the final decision-making power over matters affecting its external affairs.
Institutional autonomy is not determined by the labels organisations assign themselves but by the powers they possess. An organisation cannot be fully independent if its governing rules require approval from another body before taking effect. Likewise, autonomy is difficult to reconcile with arrangements that allow another organisation to exercise final authority over its public representation. These questions deserve careful consideration because constitutional structures often have consequences that extend far beyond the intentions of those who draft them.
Understanding why NCAA was established is essential to understanding why its autonomy matters today. Before NCAA existed, TEYA functioned as the county’s principal youth association representing both young men and women. In principle, the organisation was open to everyone. In practice, however, women rarely participated meaningfully in its leadership or activities. The existence of a gender-neutral association did not translate into substantive equality or effective representation.
Recognising this reality, visionary leaders within Twic East created NCAA as a county-wide organisation through which young women could organise themselves, elect their own leaders, develop leadership experience and contribute more effectively to the wider community. It was not established because TEYA lacked good intentions. It was established because the existing institutional arrangement had failed to produce meaningful female participation.
The results speak for themselves. NCAA has become one of the most active and respected community institutions within Twic East. It has mobilised young women, nurtured capable leaders, coordinated community activities and demonstrated that when women are provided with an institution they genuinely own, they participate enthusiastically and effectively. The organisation’s growth represents not a challenge to community unity but one of its greatest achievements.
For that reason, NCAA’s success should not become the justification for reducing its constitutional independence. Quite the opposite. The very institutional autonomy that enabled NCAA to flourish deserves protection. Empowerment cannot be measured simply by recognising women-led organisations in constitutional language while simultaneously limiting their ability to govern themselves. True empowerment requires the freedom to make decisions, adopt governing rules, elect leaders and determine organisational priorities without unnecessary external control.
Some supporters of a stronger constitutional role for TEYA argue that Twic East needs only one youth organisation and that separate women’s organisations create unnecessary division. History, however, suggests otherwise. Twic East once relied on a single county-wide youth association, yet women remained largely absent from its leadership. NCAA emerged not because the community desired duplication but because the existing structure did not adequately accommodate women’s participation. Institutional diversity, in this case, strengthened rather than weakened community unity by enabling broader participation.
Experience within Twic East itself demonstrates that meaningful inclusion often requires institutions specifically designed to address historical patterns of exclusion. Similar trends can be observed across many diaspora communities, where women frequently participate more actively in dedicated women’s organisations than in general community associations. This does not indicate a lack of commitment to unity; rather, it reflects the practical reality that meaningful participation sometimes requires spaces where leadership can develop on equal terms.
Preserving NCAA’s autonomy should not be viewed as diminishing TEYA’s importance. On the contrary, TEYA stands to benefit from having a strong and independent partner. An autonomous NCAA can mobilise more volunteers, develop more female leaders, organise specialised programmes and contribute more effectively to community development than a body operating under constitutional supervision. Strong institutions working together produce stronger communities than institutions bound together through hierarchical control.
Cooperation does not require subordination. Across civil society, independent organisations routinely collaborate through memoranda of understanding, joint committees, shared programmes and consultation mechanisms while retaining authority over their internal affairs. Such arrangements promote accountability, mutual respect and coordinated action without compromising institutional independence. There is no reason why TEYA and NCAA cannot adopt a similar model.
A carefully negotiated Memorandum of Understanding could establish procedures for consultation, financial cooperation, joint activities, conflict resolution and representation on matters affecting the wider Twic East community. Such an agreement would provide clarity while respecting the constitutional independence of both organisations. It would replace uncertainty with partnership and strengthen trust between the two institutions.
Ultimately, the future relationship between TEYA and NCAA should not be defined by questions of superiority or subordination. It should be guided by the recognition that both organisations contribute unique strengths to the development of Twic East. TEYA serves as the county’s general youth association. NCAA provides a dedicated platform through which young women organise, lead and participate fully in community life. These roles are complementary, not contradictory.
The measure of a mature community is not how much authority one institution exercises over another but how effectively its institutions enable all its members to participate. Twic East has already demonstrated that women flourish when given the opportunity to organise and lead in their own right. Preserving NCAA’s institutional autonomy while strengthening its partnership with TEYA offers the best path towards a more inclusive, representative and united future.
Rather than choosing between unity and women’s empowerment, Twic East can embrace both. A relationship founded on cooperation, mutual respect and institutional equality will not only preserve one of the community’s most important achievements but also ensure that future generations of young women and men continue to build together as equal partners in the service of their people.
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