Immediate-former National Youth Service (NYS) director-general Matilda Sakwa has been appointed CEO of the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya.
President William Ruto on Thursday made the appointment through an Executive Order.
The move comes just a day after Ms Sakwa handed over the reigns at NYS to her deputy, James Tembur, who will serve in an acting capacity until a substantive boss is named.
"The Administration's Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda posits the agricultural value chain as a key driver for employment and wealth creation... 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 Ltd," the executive order signed by President Ruto's Chief of Staff, Felix Koskei, states.
Ms Sakwa had served as NYS director-general since 2019 after holding the position in an acting capacity for over one year.
The executive order indicates that President Ruto's administration has identified the revival of the pyrethrum industry as a priority, and will look to leverage the plant once described as the white gold of Kenya.
Currently, pyrethrum is grown in at least 18 counties, but barely purrs the engine that is Kenya's agricultural sector.
