By
Kwabe Victor
Women
professionals in business this morning had an opportunity to engage in women’s
leadership Martha Karua, the nominee for deputy president of the 2 leading
coalitions, in the run-up to the general elections this august.
The breakfast
meeting was organized by KEPSA Foundation, a platform that steers
socio-economic transformation in Kenya.
Ms Gloria Ndekei the vice-chair of KEPSA Foundation
commented on the candidature of Martha Karua is a mark of historic importance attracting not
only local but also global interest.
As it symbolizes the maturity of the country in
recognizing women in leadership positions not only on the political front but
in both government and private sectors.
According to Ms Flora Mutahi, the Chairperson of KEPSA
recommended the government in its effort to encourage women’s participation in
politics, business, and policy from
Grass- root levels.
Currently, gender diversity in Kenya stands at 36% in
comparison to the global average of women holding board positions which were
23.3% according to
the Board Diversity and Inclusion report 2021 was done by
KEPSA together with the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM), Nairobi Securities
(NSE) and New Faces New Voices(NFNV).
“The track record of your life is a clear demonstration
and encouragement of all women that hard work pays and that there is a season
for everything, and such a period as this is time to bring back integrity, good
governance, servant leadership, humility, and conviction,” said Carole Kariuki
the CEO of KEPSA in her remarks.
Ms Kariuki noted the Foundation’s celebration of Kenyan
women in leadership nominated or appointed in different positions in the
country or outside the country for the recognition of their credentials,
achievements, and what they stand for.
“We are at a time in Kenya when we are witnessing great
strides towards gender inclusivity both in the Private sector and Public sector
even though we still have so much to do” she said.
Hon. Martha’s nomination is of historic importance,
transcending ordinary nominations and attracting strong interests outside
Kenya.
As the recognition, Charity Ngilu did run for the
presidency in 1997 and Hon Martha in 2013 and various other women have come
forward for various positions in the 2022 elections.
But it’s a nomination
that’s qualitatively different as it was the first recognition by a major
political coalition with a woman at the top ticket. It is the bending of the
arc of history to paraphrase President Obama in 2008.
KEPSA CEO reiterated the organization’s commitment to
being at the forefront in the fight against corruption to ensure Kenya achieved
its developmental priorities as set out in the Big 4 Agenda, Vision 2030, the
AU Agenda 2063, and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
To attain this, the organization partnered with ‘The Blue
Company Project’ to strengthen the fight against corruption through collective
responsibility and self-governance amongst KEPSA members and the wider private
sector in the long run.
KEPSA also spearheaded the formation of the ‘Business
Against Corruption Kenya’ (BACK), a platform that led to the drafting of the
Bribery Bill enacted into law in 2016.
Through the Covid-19 Recovery and Resilience Program in
partnership with MasterCard Foundation, 106 (100 Micro and 6 SMEs) businesses
have to date, benefited from the short-term loan financing without interest and
no required collateral, amounting to about KES 42 million.
Out of these, 78% of loan beneficiaries were female and
22% were male under the youth bracket, Ms Kariuki noted.
Deputy President of the Azimio party, Hon. Martha Karua
observed that continuous dialogue in politics was critical to ensure the right
leaders are picked right from the national assembly, senate, and on to the top
office of the President.
Ms Karua noted that it was critical to do it right this
time at all levels of governance to ensure as a country finishes the reform
business to reap the benefits of the
constitution of Kenya that was inaugurated in the year
2010.
She reiterated that it was indeed the commitment of her
party to uphold the rule of law, signified by her nomination to Deputy
President and holder of the Justice and Constitutional office.
Further stated that good leadership is key to creating an
enabling environment to operate businesses and lead healthy social lives and
therefore urged Kenyans to avoid the narrative that fighting corruption was
linked to witch-hunting.
Echoing that it is prudent for the responsible arms of
law to apply alternative dispute resolutions to hasten the finalization of
cases as it will largely signify a zero-tolerance corrupt environment.
Also in attendance included seasoned political and
business women such as Ms Anne Kananu Governor Nairobi County, Ms Carol Karugu
Deputy Governor Nyeri County, and Ms. Rita Kavashe CEO Isuzu among others.
Some of the issues addressed during the plenary session
revolved around creating consistent policies to support operations in the
agriculture, mining, education, and tourism sectors, to enable the business community put
structures that could support the growth of their entities globally.
