General
Women in West Africa's four-nation Mano River Union have a cause for celebration with the first ever appointment of one of their own as secretary-general of the 38-year-old bloc.
And Dr Hadja Saran Daraba Kabba, a former minister in Guinea, is the new head of the Freetown-based secretariat.
She takes charge about three months after the sudden demise of her predecessor, who was also a Guinean.
Dr Kabba becomes the 8th person to occupy the seat and, most importantly, the first woman to do so.
The Mano River Union, with a population of over 45 million, comprises Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and recently Cote d'Ivoire. It was established in 1973 with the objective of promoting regional integration along economics lines.
Along the line, the member countries incorporated the components of peace and security, but not before the sub region had been ravaged by civil unrests for almost the entire period of its existence, reversing all its initial successes.
Cote d'Ivoire was attracted by the peace and security component when it joined formally in 2008. The Ivorian government was concerned about security threats along its borders with Liberia and Guinea.
Sierra Leone and Liberia, the founding nations of the union, were the most affected, and throughout the period of their ordeal, Guinea had to maintain leadership of the rotational position of secretary-general. And all seven previous appointees, for some unexplained reasons, have been men.
Dr Kabba`s appointment is seen as a major boost to the womenfolk in the entire Mano River basin and has been described in some quarters as a recognition of their effort in bringing peace to the region.
