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Some African female trailblazers and how they made it
As more women lace their boots to hit the ground running in 2022 and beyond, we take a trot across the continent and put together short stories of some African women who continue to blaze the trail in their respective sectors.
Salima Mukansanga
First is Salima Mukansanga, Africa’s first woman to officiate as centre referee at the Africa Cup of Nations. The 33-year-old Rwandan is one of the four female match officials selected for the tournament which kicked off on January 9, 2022, in Cameroon.
She became the first-female centre referee since the inception of the tournament, making history in the match between Zimbabwe and Guinea.
She had previously officiated at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan; 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, 2018 female under 17 World Cup, Under 23 Olympic qualifiers, Africa Women’s Nations Cup, CAF Women’s Champions League, Rwandan League matches, among others.
Salima Mukansanga was listed among the 63 officials at a tournament hosted in Cameroon. Carine Atemzabong (Cameroon), Fatiha Jermoumi (Morocco), and Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco) were the other three females worked as assistant referees.
Precious Sibalo
From working as a waitress, she rose through the ranks to become a Commercial Pilot.
She is a former Cabin Crew at Qatar Airways and holds an Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) from 43 Air School, South Africa. Her late mother had her at age 17 and she was raised by her grandparents.
At age 17, she also had a child and immediately relocated to South Africa because she could no longer proceed to the University. Upon arriving in South Africa she worked as a waitress, but all this could not stop her from achieving her dream.
“I used the job of a waitress as a stepping stone. Some people will always say I will never take this job; take it and use it as a stepping stone.
“Work with excellence and cultivate your knowledge because knowledge is power. The waitress job took me to Dubai and paved a way for my job at Qatar Airways,” she said.
Precious is currently working on her Flight Instructors Rating and flying to build hours in South Africa, in an effort to achieve her next goal – flying big planes at Qatar Airways.
Sinethemba Masinga
She is a second-generation farmer and has been involved in farming from a young age, working closely with her parents. Her farm produce include – nuts, yams, sweet potatoes, dry beans, green beans, eggplant, green peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, among others.
As Director of the farm, she is involved in the day to day manual labour on the farm.
“If I’m not monitoring basic tasks like fencing, fetching water and supervising harvesting, I keep also the records of the farms accurate and up-to-date.
“I handle our business account to manage all our monthly expenses and payrolls and make sure the profits we make are used for emergencies or saving towards resources for labour on the farms,” she said.
She believes “the only way for more young women to be involved in farming is to change their minds.”
“Farming is for everyone and should not be associated with any gender. There are no limits to the positions women can fill in the agricultural sector. The sky is the limit; young women should go grab those opportunities, break the chains to motivate and create jobs for the generations to come,” she said.
Maud Chifamba
Born in abject poverty, she is now a Chartered Accountant, Education Content Creator and Advocate. At age 14, she became one of the youngest University students in Africa.
She obtained a Bachelor of Accountancy (Honours degree) at age 18 and a Master of Science (MSc) in Accountancy at age 20 from the University of Zimbabwe.
Chifamba lost her father when she was just five years old. Her mother was suffering from cancer and she could not take care of her younger brother.
When she was in grade ‘3’ in 2005, she was mistakenly given a grade ‘4’ exam paper but managed and scored 100 per cent. The same year, she requested for a grade ‘5’ test paper and passed with distinction. She went on to finish grade 7 at the age of nine.
In 2009, Chifamba did not have money for high school, she studied on her own and completed her Ordinary Level in just two years. She was later identified by the Ministry of Education and awarded financial assistance for her A levels.
She lost her mother in 2011 but against all odds, at age 23, she qualified as a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe and certified as a Public Accountant by the Public Accountants and Auditors Board, Zimbabwe.
— WomenPowerAfrica
By Spectator Reporter
Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, says more than 15,000 Ghanaian workers have lost their jobs following a directive issued by the Chief of Staff.
According to him, the dismissals affected not only people employed after the 2024 general elections, as stated in the directive, but also workers who had been lawfully employed as far back as 2017.
Raising the issue on the floor of Parliament, Mr. Afenyo-Markin said the Minority uncovered evidence showing serious excesses in the implementation of the directive.
“We became aware that although the letter was specific to those recruited after the 2024 elections, Ghanaian youth who were employed as far back as 2017 were all dismissed from their lawful employment,” he said.
He explained that the Minority filed a motion in Parliament to investigate the matter, which was admitted by the Speaker. However, the process has faced several delays.
According to him, the Majority Leader raised a preliminary objection to the motion, which was upheld by the First Deputy Speaker. The Minority later filed a motion for review under the rules of Parliament, which was also admitted.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin said the review motion was moved by him and seconded by the Member of Parliament for Ofoasi- Ayirebi, while the Majority Chief Whip, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor , began the debate on behalf of the Majority side.
He noted that the House was expected to continue the debate the following Tuesday to allow the Speaker to rule on the matter, but this has not happened due to other parliamentary business.
“Several times the motion appeared on the Order Paper, but we could not take it,” he stated.
The Minority Leader stressed that the delay is having serious consequences for affected workers and their families.
“This is a matter that affects the livelihood of Ghanaians. We have in excess of 15,000 Ghanaian youths affected by this directive, and they are still at home,” he said.
He added that the Minister for Employment has acknowledged receiving petitions on the issue and has initiated investigations, but said that should not stop Parliament from carrying out its own inquiry.
“These Ghanaian youths are sitting at home. Their wives, their extended families are all affected. It has been over a year, and they are not getting any justice,” he added.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin appealed to the Leader of Government Business to ensure that the motion is included in Parliament’s report and debated to allow the House to make a final decision on the matter.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Director of Communications for the United Party, Solomon Owusu, has expressed strong disappointment following the Supreme Court decision to quash the rerun of the Kpandai parliamentary election.
Mr Owusu made his views known while reacting to the ruling, stressing that he would feel deeply disappointed if he were in the position of Matthew Nyindam, the current Member of Parliament for Kpandai.
He explained that the High Court had earlier examined the case in detail and arrived at a clear determination on the matter.
According to him, the High Court found that the election was compromised and that rigging took place with the involvement of the Electoral Commission.
Mr Owusu pointed out that when the New Patriotic Party moved the case to the Supreme Court, it did not challenge the substance of the High Court findings.
He stated that the appeal was based purely on a point of law, arguing that the National Democratic Congress was time barred when it went to court, and not that the alleged rigging did not occur.
In his view, this means that Mr Nyindam remains in Parliament through an election process that did not reflect the true will of the people of Kpandai.
Mr Owusu noted that this was why he had expected a rerun of the election, to allow the MP to return to the constituency and properly establish his authority through the ballot.
He explained that a rerun would have given Mr Nyindam the opportunity to prove that he genuinely won the 2024 parliamentary election.
With the rerun now quashed, Mr Owusu questioned how the MP could celebrate or take pride in the court outcome.
He stressed that he would no longer take contributions made by Mr Nyindam in Parliament seriously, as the legitimacy of his mandate remains questionable in his view.
Mr Owusu further argued that the Supreme Court decision has shortchanged the people of Kpandai.
He described the ruling as unfair to voters who woke up early on election day, queued patiently, and voted for a candidate of their choice, only for their will to be undermined.
According to him, the outcome raises serious concerns about justice, electoral credibility, and respect for the democratic rights of the people.
By: Jacob Aggrey
