Dr. Vera Songwe:

Cameroonian woman is first to head UN’s ECA

By Njodzefe Nestor with agency reports

Dr Vera Songwe, flying Cameroons flag high

United Nations Secretary General, AntónioGuterres, has appointed Vera Songwe, a Cameroonian economist and banking executive as Economic Commission for Africa’s Executive Secretary making her the first woman ever to serve in that capacity.

                Dr. Songwe’s appointment by the UN scribe was announced Thursday April 13, 2017.

                She is taking over the reins of the organisation at a very critical stage of the ECA, following the departure of the immediate past Executive-Secretary, Dr. Carlos Lopes who served from 2012 to 2016.

                While celebrating her appointment, Barrister AkereMuna, another Cameroonian International cadre who is current Sanctions Commissioner of the African Development and Chairperson of the International Anti-corruption Conference in his face book page said Every Cameroonian should rise and salute Vera Songwe.

                “This comes as no surprise to those of us who have had the privilege of knowing her. Her trajectory and her accomplissements so far, are more than ample testimony of the level of her intellect, devotion and professionalism. Another example of the talents Cameroon has and produces. No international institution is without the presence of Cameroonians in top management. Our country is truly blessed, as usual we are the last to realize this. Regardless, celebrate we must” AkereMuna rejoiced.

                Cameroon’s Minister of External Relations, Lejeune MBELLA MBELLA has described the appointment as “a significant illustration of the effectiveness of Cameroonian diplomacy, which, under the leadership of the head of state, pays particular attention to the placement of Cameroonians in the international civil service”.

                Prior to the appointment of Dr Vera Songwe, the 42 year old who hails from Bamenda in the North West Region has been working as the International Finance Corporation’s regional director for Africa covering West and Central Africa since 2015.

                She is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institute: Global Development and Africa Growth Initiative (since 2011).

                She brings to the position a longstanding track record of policy advice and results oriented implementation in the region, coupled with a strong strategic vision for the region.

DrSongwe was previously Country Director for Senegal, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Mauritania at the World Bank (2012-2015), Adviser to the Managing Director of the World Bank for Africa, Europe and Central Asia and South Asia Regions (2008-2011) and Lead Country Sector Coordinator (2005-2008).

                Dr. Songwe’s professional journey began when she joined the World Bank Group in 1998 as a Young Professional. She worked in the Middle East and North Africa region covering Morocco and Tunisia in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) unit.

                She later joined the East Asia and Pacific region, PREM unit where she played several roles including Regional PRSP Coordinator, and Country Sector Coordinator and Senior Economist for the Philippines. She has also worked in Cambodia and in Mongolia as Country Economist managing different World Bank programmes and the economic and growth policy dialogue.

                Before joining the World Bank, Dr. Songwe was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Southern California and worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, USA. She has published several articles on governance, fiscal policy, agriculture and commodity price volatility and trade and new financial infrastructure.

                Songwe holds a PhD. in Mathematical Economics from the Center for Operations Research & Econometrics from the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium. She studied for BA in Economics and a BA in Political Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.