Change of Guard at State Department
Cabinet Secretary Prof. Margaret Kobia welcoming the in-coming Gender Principal Secretary Prof. Collete Suda at Harambee House on 21st January, 2020
Gender Cabinet Secretary, Prof. Margaret Kobia on Tuesday 21st January 2020, welcomed the new Principal Secretary for State Department for Gender, Prof. Collette Suda to the Ministry and bid farewell to the outgoing Principal Secretary, Hon. Safina Kwekwe who moved over to the State Department for Tourism
In her remarks Prof. Kobia wished the two leaders every success in their new roles as they deliver on their mandate to Kenyans.
During the handing over ceremony, the out-going Principal Secretary noted that the State Department for Gender had made significant progress in mitigating the challenges of GBV and had now prioritized the development of Gender Based Violence Policy at the work place. She cited GBV at the work place as a pervasive vice requiring urgent attention. Hon. Kwekwe said Ministries, Department, Agencies, Private and informal sectors all look to the State Department to provide leadership on how to manage Gender Based Violence (GBV) at the work place.
She reiterated that the increasing GBV cases within the changing environment of work-place architecture calls for urgent action to develop guiding instruments for operations. “The State Department is determined to ensure the menace is well contained within the ambit of the law,” said Hon. Kwekwe.
Outgoing Gender Principal Secretary Hon. Safina Kwekwe hands over the State Department strategic plan to her successor, Prof. Collette Suda on 21st January, 2020
Among the key documents that PS Kwekwe handed over to the incoming Principal Secretary included the Strategic Plan 2018/2022; Performance Contract for 2019/2020; and the State Department for Gender progress report.
On her part, Prof. Suda thanked the President for entrusting her with the responsibility to steer the operations of the State Department for Gender once again. She revealed that Gender and Development Sector is an area she had been passionate about for long even before her previous appointment as the Secretary Gender and Development in 2007.
The State Department for Gender is mandated to provide Gender Policy management; Special Programmes for Women Empowerment; Gender Mainstreaming in Ministries/ Department/Agencies; Community Mobilization; Domestication of International Treaties/Conventions on Gender; and Policy and programmes on Gender Based Violence.
The State Department also manages three Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies namely Uwezo Fund, Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Board and Women Enterprise Fund (WEF).
The in-coming Principal Secretary encouraged the staff to embrace team work and remain committed to supporting each other each towards achieving the goals of the department.