The New Continental Executive Board of PACJA elected

14th February, 2023- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The continental Governing Council has reelected Dr. Najwa Bourawi from Tunisia chairperson of PACJA continental Executive board for the next three years.  She was elected in a two-day general congress held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from February 13 to 14, 2023.

Dr. Bourawi had been elected vice chair and cochair of PACJA in 2018. She took over after the substantive chairperson John Bideri from Rwanda, joined the Senate of Rwanda.  The general congress was attended by over 150 delegates drawn from over 1000 African CSOs coalescing under Pan African Climate Justice Alliance convened in Addis to shape the roadmap of the alliance for the next three years.

In her acceptance speech, Dr. Najwa thanked the general congress for the trust bestowed on her for the next three years. “We all work for the benefit of Africa; we all work for climate justice and   development of Africa. [during three years] I am going to ensure that National Designated platforms are well structured because the success of PACJA comes from national platforms” promised Dr. Najwa.

For several years, Dr. Najwa has been militating for Environment Protection and climate justice. Her impact remains undisputable in Tunisia, northern Africa, the continent and beyond. She has become a real icon of advocacy for a healthy planet, climate justice and has been at the forefront of influencing policies related to climate change.

One of facts include her outstanding role in co-authoring ROCA position paper in preparation of the Rotterdam Convention COP 5 held in Bonn Germany from 25 October – 5 November 1999 not mentioning other contributions and achievements she attained over the years.

The general congress also elected the five-standing committees as follow:

Treasurer and Finance and Admin committee

Tracy Sonny from Botswana was elected treasurer and Chair of Finance& and Administration. She is an Environment and Social Expert with more seven years of experience in the Energy, Gender, and Climate Change sectors. She is currently the National Coordinator of Botswana Climate Change Network. Her successful achievements in the past term pushed the members of Continental covering Council to entrust her with the second term as Treasurer and chair of Finance and administration committee.

Advisory Council committee

Prof. Muawia Hamid Shaddad  is a civil society activist and co-founder of PACJA . He was reelected Chairperson of Advisory Council. Prof. Shaddad from Sudan, is an accomplished astronomer and a faculty member of the Physics Department, Faculty of Science University of Khartoum established in 1901. His has vast experience in chairpersonship of continental and regional Civil society.

Chairperson Ethics and Arbitration

Grace Ampomaa Afrifa joined the board with the role of Chairperson Ethics and Arbitration. Grace from Ghana has over ten years, within the women’s rights space advocating for the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality in Ghana. Focused on mainstreaming gender into climate interventions, she represents her organization in the Gender Technical Working Group under the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) which works to promote gender responsiveness in Ghana’s NDCs.

Recruitment and credentials committee

Ahmed Sekou Dialo was elected Chairperson of Recruitment and credentials committee the position he was holding from 2018. He presides over the PACJA national platform in Mali (PNASC-CED) and is also a member of the Board of Directors of PACJA, GNDR, Réseau Réussir la Décentralisation. Diallo was once President of the “Forum des Organisations” de la Société civile du Mali but also held various positions in the largest sectors of civil society in Mali. He has been involved in advocacy and policy influence for several years and plays a leading role in Malian and African civil society. He has extensive experience of collaboration and partnership with governments, technical and financial partners, elected officials, women’s and youth groups, and vulnerable groups.

Technical and Political Affairs

Augustine Njamnshi was elected chairperson of Technical and Political Affairs for the next three years. He   is a Lawyer with more 26 years of environmental/Forest policy and governance advocacy in Cameroon and the Central African sub-region. He has long experience in legislative and policy drafting in the areas of Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing, Biosafety, Biosecurity, Access to Environmental Information and Public Participation in decision making. Augustine has also held and continues to hold several elected positions representing African Civil Society of the environment sector at the international level. He has been the pioneer Chair of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance 2008-2012 the UNEP Major Groups Representative for Africa 2010-2012, The Francophone African Coordinator of the Access Initiative. He was the African Civil Society Representative on the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility as well as the Carbon Fund.

The general congress also elected three coopted members: Mr. Robert Muthami, Esipisu Isaiah and Samson Malesi Shivaji.