UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon formally nominates Mukhisa Kituyi to head UNCTAD

By Geoffrey Mosoku

Nairobi, Kenya: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has formally nominated former Trade Minister Mukhisa Kituyi to serve as Secretary-General of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

In a statement from Geneva, the UN boss said Kituyi will serve at the helm of UNCTAD for a term of four years beginning 1 September 2013.

“United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has nominated Mukhisa Kituyi of Kenya to serve as Secretary-General of UNCTAD for a term of four years beginning 1 September 2013,” the statement read.

On Monday, The Standard exclusively reported that Dr. Kituyi was due for appointment which will be simultaneously done with an appointment as a UN undersecretary.

Kituyi is a former MP for Kimilili constituency in Bungoma County who also served as the country’s Trade minister during the first term of President Mwai Kibaki.

His nomination will go to the UN General Assembly for confirmation.

If confirmed, Kituyi will succeed Supachai Panitchpakdi of Thailand, who assumed the post on September 1, 2005 and was reappointed in 2009. Mr. Supachai will conclude his second four-year term of office on August 31.

Kituyi a graduate of Political Science and International Relations from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, is also a holder a PhD in Social Anthropology, a Master of Philosophy in Development Studies and a Diploma in Science, Comparative Production Systems, all from the University of Bergen, Norway.

The appointment will be a reprieve for the former minister who also served as Member of Parliament for Kimilili constituency, having lost his bid for Bungoma senate seat to Moses Wetangula in the March 4 general elections.

UNCTAD was established in 1964 and is tasked with the mission to promote sustainable development through supportive domestic and international policies and actions. It hopes to fulfill its mandate through three key functions:

The Secretary-General of UNCTAD is usually a position held by a developing nation, amongst the G77, appointed by the Secretary General of the U.N. The decision must then be ratified by the 192-member General Assembly.

UN tradition requires that the secretary-general consult with the G77 — the developing countries’ club — over the appointment since UNCTAD has traditionally been headed by a national of a developing country.

It functions as a forum for intergovernmental deliberations, supported by discussions with experts and exchanges of experience, aimed at consensus building.