Former NYS boss Matilda Sakwa gets new State appointment

Former National Youth Service (NYS) Director General Matilda Sakwa has now been appointed to the helm of the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya Limited (PPCK).

This comes barely a day after Ms. Sakwa bid farewell to NYS, which she has headed since 2019 following her appointment by then President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Ms. Sakwa will now serve as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the State agency, which operates under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.

Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, in a posting order released on Thursday, said the new appointment takes effect immediately.

“The Administration's Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) posits the agricultural value chain as a key driver for employment and wealth creation,” said Mr. Koskei.

“In actualizing this seminal agenda, the re-engineering of the pyrethrum value chain has been identified as a priority flagship programme, with the objective of enhancing the earning of our pyrethrum farmers.”

He added: “To support in steering this transformative programme, it is notified that Ms. Matilda Sakwa has been redeployed to the Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock Development and appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya Limited (PPCK).”

Ms. Sakwa on Wednesday took her official exit from NYS, handing over to her successor and new Acting Director General James tembur.

“I leave having served as the first woman Service Commander, a feat that no mortal can erase from the books of history. I leave when a majority think I should have stayed a little longer,” she said in her final speech.

“We managed to bring back the stellar image and glory of the Service. We have put in place systems to curb unethical practices and now, the name NYS and the principles of accountability and transparency are no longer strange bedfellows.”