Mr Aeneas Chapinga Chuma, a Zimbabwean national, recently appointed by Guy Ryder, the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), as Assistant Director General and Regional Director for Africa based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is in the country on his first official visit.
During his visit from 27 – 30 April 2014, Mr Chuma will meet the leadership of the country, key representatives of UN agencies and development partners. He will also meet the national tripartite constituents (Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe) as well as with other senior officials from line Ministries.
In addition to the above, the ILO representative will also visit the African Regional Labour Administration Centre based in Harare, the ILO Country Office for Zimbabwe and some field projects supported by the ILO that have benefitted the youth.
Mr Chuma is coming from Windhoek, Namibia where he led the ILO delegation which attended the Special Session of the African Union Labour and Social Affairs Commission Meeting of Ministers. The main theme of discussions in Namibia was “Employment, Poverty Eradication and Inclusive Development”. Further discussions were engaged on the modalities for preparation of the African Union Extraordinary Summit on Employment in September 2014, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Mr Chuma has an extensive record in development and with the United Nations. In November 2012, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed him Deputy Special Representative for Consolidation of Democratic Governance of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). During the assignment, Aeneas Chuma also served as the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative.
Prior to the posting in West Africa, he was serving as the UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative in Kenya. From 2003 to 2008, Mr. Chuma served as the Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations in Zambia. From 2000 to 2003, he was the UN Deputy Resident Representative in Mozambique. He also held various positions with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York, Oman and Zimbabwe.
At the national level, he also served as a macroeconomist and econometrician with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
For more detailed information and media queries, please contact ILO team in Harare (www.ilo.org/harare):[email protected], Tel: + 263 369805-12; 0772 292 832
