By A Correspondent| MDC Vice President Lynette Karenyi has been elected deputy treasure general for the Women’s Academy for Africa (WAFA).
In her statement following the election, Karenyi said she appreciated and valued the trust in her leadership shown by the WAFA Executive Committee that overwhelmingly voted her into office.
She said:
“Indeed, for the past 5 days I was in Maputo where I attended a workshop organised by WAFA, whose leading value is gender equality based on social Democracy, Good governance, Justice and solidarity.
The organisation aims to promote Gender Equality, and political advancement of women from Labour, Socialist and Social Democratic parties in Africa.
The Agenda centered on International Training of Trainers where the main topics were “Being Selected, Mobilisation of Resources and Budgeting.
Broadly speaking WAFA focuses on issues of Sustainable Development, Gender Equality and Social Democracy.
On the first day it was a meeting of the Executive members to come up with an action plan to increase women partication in politics and leadership position by equiping women with skills such as organising and conducting sustainable training and educational programmes, courses, seminars and study groups for women in Africa at political and national levels.
What pleased me most was the trust put in me by the Executive Committie that overwhelmingly voted me to be WAFA’s Deputy Treasurer General.
It is my sincere hope that the workshop and meetings I shall be attending as WAFA Executive member and Deputy Treasurer General will help me in creating and pushing for human rights, social justice and gender equality in Zimbabwe.
I am looking forward to a Zimbabwe where women and men have an equal share of political power and full citizenship rights, where women are able to exercise their potential free from violence and discrimination.
The same workshop also fulfilled a previous resolution to have mentorship programmes for the youth. Hence the decision by WAFA to allow youth to vote it’s coordinating team.
Of importance is the fact that the youth voted a Zimbabwean youth Lindiwe Bhepe to lead the cordinating team. It is in my view that the youth mentorship programme will empower the girl child with knowledge and skills at a young age.”
WAFA is currently represented by 9 countries being Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) , Uganda and Zimbabwe.