The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) Board Chairperson Mary Mungai has been elected as the new Vice Chairperson of the Council of African Regulators (CAR).
CA in a statement on April 19, 2024, announced that Mungai secured the win after emerging second in the Chairpersons’ race as voted by members of the council.
“Warm congratulations to CA Board Chairperson Mary Wambui on election as Vice Chairperson of the Council of African Regulators (CAR) of Smart Africa Alliance,” read part of the statement.
The round of voting took place at the 13th meeting of the CAR in Lilongwe, Malawi, held between April 17 and 19, 2024.
Also, Mungai had to settle for the Vice-Chair post after coming second to Mamady Doumbouya of Guinea with seven votes.
Mamady who is the Director General of the Regulatory Authority for Posts and Telecommunications for Guinea Conakry was voted as the new CAR Chairperson, garnering twelve votes.
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On the other hand, Daud Suleman of Malawi who is the Director General of the Communications Regulatory Authority was third with four votes.
Mary Mungai career
President William Ruto appointed Mungai as the Chairperson of the CA Board of Directors on December 2, 2022.
She boasts over 30 years of success working in top leadership positions for various industries.
According to the CA, Mungai is the owner and CEO of multiple businesses with over 500 direct employees and over 1000 direct and indirect employees.
She has grown her companies rapidly from scratch through aggressive new market strategies and cultivated a performance-driven company culture to lead industry innovations.
In addition, she has served as a Board Member in several entities, including as a Board Member of Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) for seven years.
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At KNH, Mungai served as Chair of Finance and all Purposes Committee and as Chair of Corporate Strategy and Enterprise Committee.
Mungai will now be serving as the vice-chair of CAR which is a consultative forum for ICT regulators within the Smart Africa Alliance which was created by African leaders in 2013.
Smart Africa Alliance
Smart Africa Alliance was an initiative aimed at using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to drive sustainable social and economic and social progress across Africa.
According to the firm, it was created by the head of States in Africa, global organizations and international private sectors that target revolutionizing Africa’s digital platform.
The Smart Africa Manifesto was adopted during the Transform Africa Summit held in Kigali, Rwanda in October 2013.
It involved the endorsement by seven African Heads of States including Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Mali, Gabon, and Burkina Faso.
All leaders committed to provide leadership in accelerating socio-economic development through ICT’s.
The Smart Africa Manifesto was then endorsed in January 2014 by all Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
“A commitment from 32 African countries to accelerate sustainable social-economic development usher Africa into a knowledge economy through affordable access to Information and communications technologies and broadband usage,” notes Smart Africa.
Additionally, Mungai’s election comes after Kenya won the bid to host the Transformative Africa Summit (TAS) from 28th to 30th August 2024.
The summit which is convened by Smart Africa unites over 5,000 regional and global leaders to address strategies for driving Africa’s digital transformation.
What’s more, her election also acts as another win for Kenya after Kenya’s Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait MBS, was voted to the position of 1st vice chair to the board of the Network of African Data Protection Authorities (NADPA).
Moreover, Kenya is set to host the next NADPA General Assembly this year.
