Plans are underway by the National Productivity Centre (NPC) to develop specific programmes aimed at boosting the productivity of women in their various endeavours. The Director-General of the Centre, Dr Kashim Akor, who stated this in Lokoja, Kogi State, at the decoration of Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi State as an ambassador by the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), explained that conversations that equip individuals and build the capacity of organizations with the requisite knowledge, tools and techniques for working smart and continuous improvement are of utmost interest to the NPC. He added that the Centre would collaborate with the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) to design cutting edge programmes that would target improving the productivity of women in their chosen fields of endeavour. “To this end, we shall continue our collaboration with the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) to design and implement cutting-edge programmes aimed…

Ms Ann Kananu Mwenda becomes the third woman to take the reins of a deputy governor after 2017 General Election. The Nairobi City county deputy governor, therefore, comes 10th in the list of incumbent deputy governors after Dr Caroline Wanjiru Karugu of Nyeri who took an oath of office in 2018 and Dr Joyce Wanjiku Ngugi who took the leadership in Kiambu County, last year. Since 2017, five governors, including one female, have exited office either through death or impeachment. Governors John Nyagarama (Nyamira), Wahome Gakuru (Nyeri) and Dr Joyce Laboso died while in office. While Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu) and Mike Sonko (Nairobi) were impeached. Of the four counties – Nyeri, Nyamira, Bomet and Kiambu – only two incoming governors opted for female deputy governors. In Nairobi, Ms Mwenda had been nominated by Mr Sonko before his impeachment. In the 2017 General Election, only seven women became deputy governors including…

Guinean President Alpha Conde named Kadiatou Emilie Diaby as public works minister in a cabinet reshuffle, making her the fifth woman in his administration. Diaby was a senior official with the African Development Bank, serving as officer-in-charge in Sierra Leone and country manager in Togo from July 2017 to September 2018, according to her LinkedIn profile. She joins the planning, energy, technical education and women’s empowerment ministers who retained their posts, according to a decree broadcast on state-run Radio Télévision Guinéenne. Mamadi Camara also remains the finance minister of the world’s biggest bauxite exporter, as does Budget Minister Ismael Dioubate. Ibrahim Khalil Kaba, the chief of staff in the Presidency, was appointed foreign affairs minister, replacing Mamady Touré. Further appointments are expected in the coming days, including the mining, post and telecommunications, and trade ministries. Bloomberg

Mujeres por África (MXA), or Women for Africa Foundation, is a Spanish non-profit organization founded by María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, the former vice-president of Spain. The organization focuses on promoting equal rights and opportunities for women in Africa, in hopes of contributing to the region’s development. Mujeres por África’s Initiatives Its mains activities are focused on economic development, health, knowledge and leadership and governance, with each of these main areas of operation containing several programs the Women for Africa Foundation employs fruitfully. The Women for Africa Foundation utilizes these programs to further progress key objectives of the foundation, such as to promote a better political orientation and inclusion for women in positions of power, develop knowledge and scientific research in the female population, improve maternal and child health and invest in the economic empowerment of women. “Women for Africa is committed to democracy, governance, peace, human rights, sustainable economic and social…

Campaigner Rugiati Turay has won the Theodor Haecker human rights prize for fighting female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone.