U.S. forces missed chance to get bin Laden in 2001

The U.S. military could have captured or killed Osama bin Laden in 2001 if it had launched a concerted attack on his hideout in Afghanistan, according to a report prepared for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The report, written by staff working for the Democratic majority on the committee, said the al Qaeda leader's escape was a lost opportunity that altered the course of the war and paved the way for insurgencies in Afghanistan and in Pakistan.

"Removing the al Qaeda leader from the battlefield eight years ago would not have eliminated the worldwide extremist threat," the report said.

"But the decisions that opened the door for his escape to Pakistan allowed bin Laden to emerge as a potent symbolic figure who continues to attract a steady flow of money and inspire fanatics worldwide."

U.S. soldiers and Afghan militia forces launched a large-scale assault on the Tora Bora mountains in 2001 in pursuit of bin Laden, believed to be hiding in the region with supporters after the Taliban government was removed from power.

U.S. military leaders allowed Afghan militiamen to spearhead the assault and bin Laden managed to escape.

The report said U.S. commanders rejected requests for more troops to launch a rapid assault in the area, relying instead on air strikes and the Afghan militias to lead the attack and Pakistan's Frontier Corps to seal off escape routes.

"The vast array of American military power, from sniper teams to the most mobile divisions of the Marine Corps and the Army, was kept on the sidelines," it said.

The report was especially critical of military leaders under former President George W. Bush, including former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his top military commander, retired General Tommy Franks.

Democratic Senator John Kerry, the chairman of the committee, has argued the Bush administration missed a chance to get bin Laden and his top lieutenants in Tora Bora just months after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Kerry lost the 2004 presidential election to Bush.

The report was issued just days before President Barack Obama was expected to announce the United States would send about 30,000 more troops to secure population centers and train Afghan security forces.

There are about 68,000 U.S. troops and 42,000 allied soldiers in Afghanistan.
Source: Reuters

Miss “Malaika”: An Angel brightening for hope

By Mugume D Rwakaringi, Juba-Sudan
Size: 6'0", 1'81CM
Hobbies: Meeting friends, Travel and watching movies & Football (Especially Premier League)
Education: Masters, Accounting & Finance
Miss Malaika, Nok Nora Duany 25 was born in Juba but spent most of her time in USA where she acquiring her masters in accounting and Finance from Georgetown University.
She has worked for GoSS and operates private business. With the help of her family, the reigning Malaika started Sports Revolution, which organises basketball tournament and other sporting activities for young Southern Sudanese where local talent is spotted and sent for further training abroad.
The outgoing Miss Malaika 2009 will end her reign with a 5/10 KM walk/race which which will start at Nyakuron cultural center on November 21, 2009.

Miss Malaika 2009, Nok Nora Duany will use this race as a kick-off start to raise funds which will be used for girls’ education promotion in Southern Sudan under her founded NGO Sports Revolution Girls.

Foreigners to participate in this event will part with 50 SDG where as Sudanese nationals will pay 10 SDG with all precedes going for this charity.

There is on going registration taking place at The Ministry of Commerce and Industry which will continue up to the event day.
Malaika is a swahili word which means an angel! Ends

TIPS FOR JOB INTERVIEW PART I

TIPS FOR JOB INTERVIEW PART I


By Fareed Musa Fataki

Am inspired to write this article because of the experiences I have gone through both as in interviewee and interviewer for the last ten years. Most times we loose the job not because we are not good enough but because of simple mistakes that we could avoid.

We often fail to create or give the best impression pf ourselves to the employer by being timid and fearful, not being sure of our selves, or yes I know some interviewers can mean to be intimidating but always relax and listen to the question attentively and take your time to answer it, this way, you build confidence in you and to the employer and remember to always beg the pardon for any question not clear to you before answering it. This way you win the show and you create good impression before your potential employer.

Note that, the employer is looking for the best candidate for the job in less than an hour and that you are not alone, therefore, convince the panel members that, you are the best that there is by the way you talk, the way you answer the questions, be honest and save time by saying I do not know the answer rather than giving wrong answer to a correct question during the interview, rely more on your strength but also, show them your weaknesses and prove that, you are a first leaner who can turn these weaknesses into strength within short period of time

Before we proceed, note that, an interview is not an interrogation; it's a conversation. Thus, I believe the best way to prepare for an interview is to come armed with a multitude of small stories about the job advertised and relate this stories to your personal life.

It is important to relax and feel at home. Interviews are not really interviews at all. They're conversations. Treat them like conversations, and the tension will slowly dissolve. Remember: when you walk into that office, you don't have the job to begin with. In theory, you have nothing to lose. You either come out way ahead or back where you started. If you approach the situation with a "win-draw" mentality, most of the pressure will fall by the wayside.
You should start by developing your stories around these areas:
• Examples of when you either made money or saved money for your current or previous employer.
• A crisis in your life or job and how you responded or recovered from it.
• A time where you functioned as part of a team and what your contribution was.
• A time in your career or job where you had to overcome stress.
• A time in your job where you provided successful leadership or a sense of direction.
• A failure that occurred in your job and how you overcame it.
• Any seminal events that happened during your career to cause you to change direction and how that worked out for you.
Always know what you are being interviewed for and what type of interview you are going to be subject to. This trick is always in the terms of reference for the job contained in the advert. Always remember all that is asked for in the adverts and compare the required skills to what you have, this way, you will asses your strength and weakness and before anything, prepare to answer questions on your weaknesses more than your strength. Give clear and specific response to how you are going to work round your weakness and turn them to strength and be open to discuss weaknesses.
Competency-based interviews, as opposed to traditional interviews, have become more common today. In a traditional interview, the interviewer will ask you questions focused on whether you have the skills and knowledge needed to do the job. A competency-based interview goes further by asking you additional questions about your character and personal attributes that can better determine whether you fit their corporate culture. These are called "behavioral competencies."
A competency-based interviewer will spend about half the interview on your job skills, and about half on your behavioral competencies. He or she will be looking for evidence of how you have acted in real situations in the past. So having your stories ready to go, and discussing them during a conversation between two equals, plays very well for this type of interview.
.Attitude is everything. If you're smiling, excited and optimistic, you've already won half the battle. If you're cold, distant and uninterested, you've already lost 99% of the battle.
No matter what credits are in your resume or
how nice your CV is written, always try to be yourself. If you act like someone else and they like you, they don't actually like YOU. They like the person you're pretending to be. If you end up getting a job there, you won't be able to keep up the facade for very long anyway. Honesty and authenticity are very appealing characteristics. If both parties stay true to themselves, they'll know if they're right for each other. And in the end, that's usually what matters most.
Appearance counts. Before you meet people, virtually the only judgment you can make is based on aesthetics. What you're wearing matters. What they're wearing matters. How you sit, stand, shake hands, hold your pen and walk up the stairs counts. Not enormously, but enough. First impressions are huge. Also, how does the building look? Is the lobby clean and organized? Are the cubicles bunched together? Is the ceiling high or low? Does it look like a fun place to work? Does it invite you to come back?
All the smartness, good skills and high experience in the job mean nothing without the right fit. If your values aren't aligned with those of the company, you're doomed. If you like to have fun and they're always serious, don't even bother. Seriously. The more you fit in, the more you'll want to come back every day and bust your butt. If you're always at odds with your coworkers, you're going to hate your job. And my simple advice is for you to look for another job.
DON’T MISS THE FINAL TIPS IN OUR NEXT EDITION

The writer is the Deputy Director for Establishment/ Human Resource, with the Southern Sudan Centre for Census, Statistics and Evaluation; he is also a Consultant in Peace and conflict resolution as well as a Researcher.

Ends

BLACK MARKET OUR PROBLEM, MEX AL MUSTAQBAL MANAGER

BLACK MARKET OUR PROBLEM, MEX AL MUSTAQBAL MANAGER

Mr. Samuel Justo, Manager MEX

BLACK MARKET OUR PROBLEM, MEX AL MUSTAQBAL MANAGER

Mugume D. Rwakaringi, Juba




The General Manager of Mex Mustaqbal Company for Exchange, Mr. Samuel Justo Beitelmal (above) has decried the presence of the “black market” dealers as the major stumbling block to their dealings in the foreign exchange business and money transfer systems, Nile Fortune has reliably established.

In an exclusive interview with the Nile Fortune, Mr. Samuel said that the black marketers (unregistered money changers) sometimes keep a lot of money thereby making it very difficult for the Central Bank; Bank of Southern Sudan (BoSS) to control.

“These people (black marketers) keep a lot of money which would be normally in circulation”, noted a concerned Samuel.

This he explained is also affected by the already presence of many Foreign Rxchange Bureaus and Money transfer Offices in Juba.

“You can’t imagine that we have about 18 registered Forex bureaus and other 3 yet to be approved yet Khartoum the largest the capital city of the entire Sudan also has 18.

He also added that because of the presence of many expatriates in South Sudan also becomes a problem especially when these expatriates are returning back home who demand for a lot of money which may not be available for them.

“These people (expatriates) definitely cannot carry bags of money when they are traveling and they also need to take their money either in their local currencies or the International currency (United States Dollar).

Mr. Samuel Justo however noted that the government of Southern Sudan through the concerned Ministries and BoSS is striving to curb the problem.

This is just a growing economy; I am hopeful that everything will stabilize when South Sudan has gained many local manufacturing factories.

Mex Mustaqbal Company for Exchange other than dealing with forex services also transfers money to other destinations notably to East Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania), Europe (London, United Kingdom) and in United States of America.

Sudan has currently been hit hard by the economic crisis because of overdependence of on oil as a major source of national income. The price of oil has dropped from US$147 per barrel in July 2009 to US$50 per barrel since February 2009.

South Sudan continues to lose large amounts of money through profit repatriation. Over 90% of day to day commodities like vegetables, fruits and fish are imported from neighbor countries such as Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Also imported from these Countries are building materials since South Sudan is rebuilding her infrastructures.

Meanwhile South Sudanese are massively registering for the forth coming elections that will start in April2010. The same registers are expected to be used for the Referendum elections in 2011.

Ends

Health Calamity! South Sudan has only one optician

HEALTH

Health Calamity! South Sudan has only one optician

By Lodiong Morris

Early in the morning patients have gathered in the optical ward (eye unit) waiting for the only optician in the country. It’s not only the locals within Juba but tens of thousands coming from all the ten states of southern Sudan.

This is at Juba teaching hospital, the country’s oldest hospital that served during the 21 years of civil war between the South and the North. It was the only major hospital that was working despite the upheaval the staffs were undergoing when Khartoum government backed militias in Juba penetrate into the hospital the nurses were not spared they were caned, flog, for not treating those from operation the nurses were accused of being pro the then rebel termed to be thugs then.

Today the twist is different the past days have gone life has to get on with open access to medical assistance those using herbs then now come for treatment in the country’s biggest hospital.

In the eye unit the nurses were not so rude may be because they were not pressured or paid promptly there was no much work ones the South Sudanese optician who lives and work in Zimbabwe leaves there was no much work to worry them, only the task was to sit and tell patients who have travelled miles away from Juba that the doctor will be coming or has travelled.

Paul Loke Lokoro around 65 years old opshalneric clinical officer said they only have one optician dealing with surgery Dr. Wani Mena. He comes home to his country to voluntarily help the patients that dearly needs him.

Loke said they receives a total of about 25-25 patients daily from different states but not all were operated because the doctor doing that cannot handle the great number that comprises of all the age sects as he voluntarily work and could always be demanded by his employers in his second country.

He said they were only three ophalneric clinical officers in the whole of South Sudan, one Baranda Mach Kangi works in Buluk School of the blind, Juba he treats some of the sight problem in the school while the rest work in Juba teaching hospital with hardly any knowledge to operate.

One other biggest challenge he said was lack of transport facility for them to move to all the ten state main hospitals to carry out the medical treatment to avoid the mobility of the citizens whom poverty will force them to be blind.

Christian blindness vision the only organization helping the blind in Juba teaching hospital stocks the pharmacies according to the clinical officer the support wasn’t enough as more cases were reported.

“Our pharmacy is being stock by Christian Blindness vision but its providing not much because the demand is too high many people are reporting sighting problems from all the states we need more assistance” he said

South Sudan sight problem according to Dr. Wani Mena were being cause by diseases like Cataract, trachoma, onchocerachas, reflective error and childhood blindness with majority case from Western equatoria and western Barhel Gazel States however these states lack professional health personnel to treat the sickness patients thus travel to Juba for the treatment.

Mena also said the only treatment they give to patients was the evisceration (Eye washing), surgery in some cases and the use of eye glasses.

At the age of 25 Charles Peter from Munduri East, Western Equatoria State said he had been suffering for seven years, according to him he moved to several health centers in the state including the state’s main hospital but there was no proper treatment for his eyes.

Peter said it took him lot of money contributed by the family and well wisher to come to Juba. He was optimistic that his problem would be rectified because he learnt that many people operated have been relieved.

“I come from Munduri I cannot see well the disease has taken seven years I cannot see well, I moved to all the hospitals including Yambio state main hospital but I did not get the right medicine for the disease they told me to come for operation” Ruati said.

Achol Mary a patient from Yirol appealed to the government of South Sudan and any humanitarian body to extend the service near because there were other patients back who cannot afford to travel to Juba for the operation.

“There many people there they cannot come up to Juba let our government should take this service near because most people cannot afford to come up to Equatoria here” she said.

South Sudan medical field is virgin the few doctors present are engage in their various activities just like the teachers in government schools they too have deserted the field blaming the government for failing to pay them on time including poor condition of work.

RWANDA, FROM GENOCIDE TO AN INVESTMENT HAVEN

RWANDA, FROM GENOCIDE TO AN INVESTMENT HAVEN

By Mugume D Rwakaringi

Barely a decade and a half after a turmoil that led to genocide which led to about 1000.000 losing their lives and the breakdown in all sectors of development, Rwanda’s economy and Investment climate has had a steady development. The recent Doing Business report conducted by World Bank ranked Rwanda as the best business reformer, after jumping spectacular 76 places to establish herself among the 100 best reformers at the 67th position.

Rwanda President: Paul Kagame:

Rwanda is popularly known as ‘the land of a thousand hills’ because of its many hills which form tourist attractions. The landscapes in this green country are truly incredible.

People who have got a chance of visiting Rwanda have admitted that the Country is well endowed with natural beauty especially the nature of Rwanda’s mountains, its climate is also a remarkable one; blessed with a relatively cold climate-not so cold though, no wonder Rwanda has been termed as the Switzerland of Africa.

This is evidenced by a wide variety of wildlife. The Volcanoes National Park, in northern Rwanda is home to the world’s largest number of endangered mountain gorillas. Numbering in the hundreds, the gorillas live in a protected area, free from poachers.
The Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda is crowded with wildlife both large and the hospitable people who have a great respect for foreigners.

It is however not this natural beauty that has led to Rwanda’s steady growth but rather the political climate for example of no tolerance to corruption, Transparency International recently recognized Rwanda’s strong commitment to fighting corruption.

It has however not been easy for this land locked Country. In 1999, the Rwandan economy stagnated due to a combination of factors, including the increase in world oil prices, a decrease in world coffee prices.

Recently while Rwanda’s President H.E Paul Kagame remarked that for Africa to attract more business and move forward in its on-going transformation, the continent must embrace good governance that promotes accountabiltility. This singles out that Graft has been the major hindrance to Africa’s development and Investment attraction.

Surprisingly even with the present World economic crisis, Rwanda has had a stable growth quoting a GDP of almost double figures (9%) in the last quarter with per capita incomes for individual Rwandans growing above $500.

Rwanda introduced major reforms in several areas, according to Doing Business 2009. It streamlined construction permitting for the second year in a row by combining the applications for location clearance and a building permit in a single form and introducing a single application form for water, sewerage, and electricity connections. This reduced both the number of procedures and the time required for dealing with construction permits.

The time and cost to register a property also fell. A new fixed registration fee was introduced, and centralization of the tax service reduced the time to obtain a certificate of good standing, the report noted.

Rwanda facilitated trade by extending the opening hours of the customs border offices, implementing an electronic data interchange system, and introducing risk-based inspections. Together with growth in the transport sector, this reduced the time to export by five days and the time to import by 27 days—a 40 percent reduction.

Finally, commercial courts began operating in three locations, in Kigali and in the Northern and Southern Provinces, making it easier to enforce contracts.

The Rwanda Investment Capacity which is facilitating improvement in doing business by supporting efficient enforcement of contracts, registration of property and starting a business was allocated Rwf11.9bn (approx. US $ 20 million for a three-year programme designed to reduce the cost and risk of doing business in the country.

The condusive investement climate is paying dividends to Rwanda with a number of reputable companies such as Equity Bank, Prime Bank, Kencall, Nation Media Group and Contour Global company which is ready to invest up to USD 300 million in the energy sector willing to start investing in the Country as early as 2010.

Rwanda’s development according to Vincent Karega, Rwandan Minister of State in charge of trade and investment is not a one’s man show but a combination of all people from different areas of Rwandan society: central and local government technicians, representatives of the private sector and civil society.

Rwanda has seen a dramatic rise in investment inflows, according to the World Investment Report (WIR) 2009. The report released recently said that inflow increased from $16m in 2006 to $67m in 2007 and $103m last year, surpassing for the first time giant Kenya only one position better than fragile-post conflict Burundi that attracted only $1m in foreign investment.

Although Rwanda’s economic structure is characterized by an overwhelming majority of population being employed in agriculture which is limited by scarcity of land, Rwanda’s friendly industrial policy has contributed to the general improvement of Rwanda’s economy.

With the scarce land problem, the government intervened by intensification, land consolidation, fertiliser application, introduction of good variety of seeds and an intensified terracing exercise programs which have yielded remarkable dividends.


The Minister’s advice should not be only for Rwanda, a country with a significant development despite the limited resources available but should be a message for all Africa and for every individual as we strive to attain the MDGs in 2015. With everyone’s effort towards attaining development implemented, then Obama’s slogan “Yes we can”-Develop, can be achieved.




ENDS

RWANDA, FROM GENOCIDE TO AN INVESTMENT HAVEN

RWANDA, FROM GENOCIDE TO AN INVESTMENT HAVEN

By Mugume D Rwakaringi

Barely a decade and a half after a turmoil that led to genocide which led to about 1000.000 losing their lives and the breakdown in all sectors of development, Rwanda’s economy and Investment climate has had a steady development. The recent Doing Business report conducted by World Bank ranked Rwanda as the best business reformer, after jumping spectacular 76 places to establish herself among the 100 best reformers at the 67th position.

Rwanda is popularly known as ‘the land of a thousand hills’ because of its many hills which form tourist attractions. The landscapes in this green country are truly incredible.

People who have got a chance of visiting Rwanda have admitted that the Country is well endowed with natural beauty especially the nature of Rwanda’s mountains, its climate is also a remarkable one; blessed with a relatively cold climate-not so cold though, no wonder Rwanda has been termed as the Switzerland of Africa.

This is evidenced by a wide variety of wildlife. The Volcanoes National Park, in northern Rwanda is home to the world’s largest number of endangered mountain gorillas. Numbering in the hundreds, the gorillas live in a protected area, free from poachers.
The Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda is crowded with wildlife both large and the hospitable people who have a great respect for foreigners.

It is however not this natural beauty that has led to Rwanda’s steady growth but rather the political climate for example of no tolerance to corruption, Transparency International recently recognized Rwanda’s strong commitment to fighting corruption.

It has however not been easy for this land locked Country. In 1999, the Rwandan economy stagnated due to a combination of factors, including the increase in world oil prices, a decrease in world coffee prices.

Recently while Rwanda’s President H.E Paul Kagame remarked that for Africa to attract more business and move forward in its on-going transformation, the continent must embrace good governance that promotes accountabiltility. This singles out that Graft has been the major hindrance to Africa’s development and Investment attraction.

Surprisingly even with the present World economic crisis, Rwanda has had a stable growth quoting a GDP of almost double figures (9%) in the last quarter with per capita incomes for individual Rwandans growing above $500.

Rwanda introduced major reforms in several areas, according to Doing Business 2009. It streamlined construction permitting for the second year in a row by combining the applications for location clearance and a building permit in a single form and introducing a single application form for water, sewerage, and electricity connections. This reduced both the number of procedures and the time required for dealing with construction permits.

The time and cost to register a property also fell. A new fixed registration fee was introduced, and centralization of the tax service reduced the time to obtain a certificate of good standing, the report noted.

Rwanda facilitated trade by extending the opening hours of the customs border offices, implementing an electronic data interchange system, and introducing risk-based inspections. Together with growth in the transport sector, this reduced the time to export by five days and the time to import by 27 days—a 40 percent reduction.

Finally, commercial courts began operating in three locations, in Kigali and in the Northern and Southern Provinces, making it easier to enforce contracts.

The Rwanda Investment Capacity which is facilitating improvement in doing business by supporting efficient enforcement of contracts, registration of property and starting a business was allocated Rwf11.9bn (approx. US $ 20 million for a three-year programme designed to reduce the cost and risk of doing business in the country.

The condusive investement climate is paying dividends to Rwanda with a number of reputable companies such as Equity Bank, Prime Bank, Kencall, Nation Media Group and Contour Global company which is ready to invest up to USD 300 million in the energy sector willing to start investing in the Country as early as 2010.

Rwanda’s development according to Vincent Karega, Rwandan Minister of State in charge of trade and investment is not a one’s man show but a combination of all people from different areas of Rwandan society: central and local government technicians, representatives of the private sector and civil society.

Rwanda has seen a dramatic rise in investment inflows, according to the World Investment Report (WIR) 2009. The report released recently said that inflow increased from $16m in 2006 to $67m in 2007 and $103m last year, surpassing for the first time giant Kenya only one position better than fragile-post conflict Burundi that attracted only $1m in foreign investment.

Although Rwanda’s economic structure is characterized by an overwhelming majority of population being employed in agriculture which is limited by scarcity of land, Rwanda’s friendly industrial policy has contributed to the general improvement of Rwanda’s economy.

With the scarce land problem, the government intervened by intensification, land consolidation, fertiliser application, introduction of good variety of seeds and an intensified terracing exercise programs which have yielded remarkable dividends.


The Minister’s advice should not be only for Rwanda, a country with a significant development despite the limited resources available but should be a message for all Africa and for every individual as we strive to attain the MDGs in 2015. With everyone’s effort towards attaining development implemented, then Obama’s slogan “Yes we can”-Develop, can be achieved.









































Women poorer than men in Rwanda, says UN

The UN agency charged with campaigning for women rights says governments are not doing enough to establish mechanisms that protect women from rampant abuse, urging Kigali to do more on poverty as it is hitting the women hard.

Closing the gender gap is crucial because it is symptomatic of an accountability crisis that exists now, according to UNIFEM Executive Director Inés Alberdi, who joined Rwanda First Lady Jeannette Kagame in Kigali to launch the 2008/09 global report on women progress.

The report released on a two-year period says women are outnumbered 4 to 1 in legislatures around the world. Over 60 percent of all unpaid family workers globally are women and women still earn on average 17 per cent less than men. It takes note of the fact that Rwanda has more than 56 percent women parliamentarians.

About one-third of women suffer gender-based violence during their lives. In some parts of the world, 1 in 10 women dies from pregnancy-related causes even though the means for preventing maternal mortality are cost-effective and well known.

Governments and multilateral organizations have a responsibility to do a better job of answering to women, the document demands. It points out that accountability mechanisms work for women when they can ask for explanations and information from decision makers, and, where necessary, initiate investigations or get compensation.

The agency’s officials said Tuesday that Rwanda is well past setting up systems that cater for the woman’s needs. “Rwanda has many lessons to share on the theme of gender and accountability” says Josephine Odera, Regional Program Director of UNIFEM Central Africa Regional Office.

“It is our duty to ensure that women know, understand and utilize the accountability structures in place in Rwanda.”

In Rwanda, the report says accountability for addressing gender-based violence (GBV) has been included in household surveys - traditionally called Imihigo - against which district leadership is to be evaluated. This signals a widespread commitment to prevent violence against women in an explicit form.

As one District Mayor explains in the document; “We included the fight against GBV in our performance contracts because security organisations showed us important statistics about the problem of GBV in our area [...] Imihigo is a response to the problems in our community.

However, the UN notes that poverty in Rwanda still carries a “female face”. Of the households living under the poverty line, the majority are female headed. More than 80 % of agriculture workers are female, yet they have limited control over assets and suffer from food insecurity. Women have limited access to social and economic services compared to men and gender based violence is still a daily threat to too many women and girls in Rwanda.

The First Lady said there cannot be meaningful development without the active participation the women - who are the majority, based on the 2002 census estimates.

Even though in the last decade the number of women parliamentarians at the national level has increased by 8 percent to a global average of 18.4 percent, developing countries will still not reach the “parity zone” of 40-60 percent until 2045, the UN agency said.

Women hold an average of 19.3 percent of parliamentary seats in countries that applied some form of electoral quota, compared to 14.7 percent in countries with no quotas.

Rwanda News Agency (RNA)