Former president Joyce Banda has been appointed champion of climate change and justice in Africa by the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (Pacja).
Banda who is also the leader of People’s party (PP), was officially unvailed last week by Pacja executive director Mithika Mwenda at an event held in Nairobi, Kenya.
In an interview, Banda’s executive assistant Arnold Mnelemba said the former president while accepting the responsibility , told the gathering she hopes the appointment would help her speak for Malawi as goodwill ambassador on Cyclone Freddy.
He said Pacja honored Banda for her unwavering passion in a pointing our climate injustices and the need to compensate countries suffering from the same,
in her acceptance speech, Banda she was humbled by the championship.
“I have been accorded the best platform to interact with experts on climate change and justice,” she said .
During the event , Banda was joined by Malawi’s High Commissioner to Kenya Callista Muthalika.
The former Malawi Leader also took advantage of the Kenya trip to pay courtesy call on Inger Andersen, executive director of United Nations Environment Programmes (Unep) at its headquarters in Nairobi.
Writing their website, Pacja said Banda also held bilateral discussions with alliance on exploring potential areas of collaboration on pertinent topics pertaining to climate change.
The bilateral discussions centred around mechanisms for preventing climate disasters, adaptation strategies, and building resilience, among other the order related areas.
President Lazarus Chakwera entrusted Banda with a mandate to ensure climate change and environmental protection issues are central in the national recovery strategy after the devastating effects of cyclone Freddy.
Pacja is a network of over 1000 African civil society organizations working to promote climate justice, human rights, and sustainable development.
Source: The Nation_Wednesday May 17, 2023_by Lucky Mkamdawire_NEws Analyst