Nairobi will now be the headquarters of the continent’s employers body Business Africa; formerly the Pan-African Employers’ Confederation (PEC) after it was selected during the General Council meeting of Business Africa held in Geneva Switzerland.The Executive Director of the Federation of Kenya Employers Jacqueline Mugo was also elected as the Secretary General of Business Africa for a three-year term.Speaking after her election, Mugo who takes over from Azad Jeetun of the Mauritius Employers Federation said that it was an important achievement for African employers to have Business Africa headquartered in Nairobi.
“I see Business Africa leveraging from the global importance Nairobi currently enjoys in order to take its rightful place as a driver of growth and prosperity in the continent,” she said.“The selection of Nairobi to host the continental body which has an observer status at the African Union (AU) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) signifies the fast rising reputation of Kenya’s capital as one of Africa’s leading cities. Nairobi is one of the best connected cities in Africa when it comes to air traffic.”She added that employers hold the key to unlocking Africa’s potential going by the resources they can inject to create jobs and utilise the talent and raw materials that are abundant but under exploited in the continent.Mugo becomes the first woman to hold the post in the history of the continental body.She said that employers hold the key to unlocking Africa’s potential going by the resources they can inject to create jobs and utilise the talent and raw materials that are abundant but under exploited in the continent.
“We must now take charge of steering Africa out of the dark times because without our input nothing can be achieved. It is our responsibility and in our interest to ensure that Africa prospers. We owe it to our people to ensure that they can enjoy what God has abundantly blessed us with,” she urged.The FKE boss said that Africa’s employers have no option but to work with, if not push governments to provide an environment for stability and sustainability for enterprise in order to lift the continent from years of under-development.PEC was established in October 1986 in Cairo and was transformed into Business Africa on October 2011 at a special meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa.The body provides a forum for consultations among African entrepreneurs as well as raising the social consciousness of African employers about their role in the improvement of society.
