The future of PR in Africa and it’s Leadership
The African Public Relations Association (APRA) is forging ahead with a collaborative approach, uniting leaders from across the continent to shape the future of the industry.
Dr. Michele Mekeme, Vice President of APRA, in her resent document obtained by Spokesperson’s digest, highlighted the association’s core strength lies in its national associations, which are the heartbeat of its existence.
The journey toward collaboration began with a mandate from the President to bring together heads of national associations and country representatives.
This strategic move is to converge diverse insights, experiences, and contributions to meaningfully shape APRA’s direction
“Empowering these bodies is essential to the future of African public relations,” she emphasized.
The first meeting of the association and country representatives took place on July 24, 2024, marking a significant milestone in APRA’s collaborative journey.
Sh recognized understanding and responding to unique dynamics at both regional and national levels.
APRA’s Executive Council has formed specialized committees comprising professionals from diverse nationalities across Africa.
These committees will bring fresh perspectives and expertise to the table; Position African public relations professionals in the global arena; and Highlight the talent within the continent.
Below are are the profile of the Heads Of National Associations And Country Representatives
Algeria – Lamia Rahal Lamia Rahal represents Algeria and career has been focused on promoting economic growth,en trepreneurship and sustainable development in the continent. She is a public policy expert with over 12 years experience in regulatory affairs, market ac cess, and business development. She has consulted for the World Bank (WB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), helping them to set up country strategies in the healthcare and pharma- ceutical sectors.
Carolina Barros Carolina Barros is an Angolan with over 20 years of experience in public relations. She was recognized by Comms in Africa as one of the 50 outstanding Af rican women in Communication and Media for the Year 2023. Her experience comes from the public sector and from running her agency for more than 10 years. Carolina was born in Luanda, has lived in South Africa, and works in African lusophone mar kets (Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe, Guiné Equatorial, and Cape Verde).
Gambia – Madikay Njie Madikay Njie is the Secretary General of the Public Relations Association of the Gambia (PRAG). He is also the Gambia Telecommunications Company’s (Gamtel) manager for public relations and media.
Gamtel, a state owned enterprise is mandated by an act of law to provide telecommunications and related services in Gambia. He started his journey in the telecommunications industry more than 30 years ago and has served in various capacities ranging from managing the International traffic account, managing the Gamtel Billing system and presently managing public relations and media.
Ghana – Esther A. N. Cobbah Esther is an award-winning communications prac titioner based in Accra, Ghana. She has over 30 years experience in communication. Esther has a keen understanding of the value of effective com munication processes for national development and has a track record of providing effective com munications strategies to promote innovation and enhance public awareness. She is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Communi cations Africa Ltd (Stratcomm Africa), a communi cation and reputation management agency based in Ghana, which has served over 150 local and in ternational clients.
Mauritius – Lekha Seebaluck Lekha Seebaluck is a seasoned communications professional with over two decades of experience in strategic reputation management, crisis com munication, and public relations. As the Managing Director of Blast Communications, she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her clients, offering both strategic direction and practical im plementation advice. Lekha’s multifaceted experi ence in journalism, academia, and corporate com munications allows her to approach challenges with a holistic view.
Morocco – Kamal Taïbi Kamal Taibi, founder & CEO of Stratëus Group since 2010, is a seasoned public affairs and stra tegic communications expert with over 25 years of experience. He advises leading multinational companies, governmental institutions, and major national corporations on a wide range of strate gic issues related to the North and West African markets. Notably, he played a key role in launching several industry coalitions and previously acted as communications counsel to Morocco’s Minister of Economy and Finances.
Sierra Leone – Mohamed Bangalie Born in Bo and schooled at the Christ the King Col lege, Southern Sierra Leone, Mohamed Bangalie is the Head of Public Affairs and Events Manage ment at the National Social Security and Insurance Trust. He has had an illustrious career at NASSIT and has demonstrated commitment, dedication and selfless service for almost 20 years in the field of Public Relations, Customer Service, and Events Management. Additionally, he has provided PR Consultancy services for several agencies and tele communications companies in Sierra Leone and is a mentor to young PR professionals .
Uganda – Tina Wamala Tina Wamala is a seasoned PR expert, with over 12 years’ experience in the PR and Communications field. She is currently the Communications Officer at the British High Commission, Kampala. She be gan her career as a journalist, working for Record TV where she grew in popularity hosting a number of programmes including the Voice of the People, Super Gal and Day Breaker which eventually made her a household name. She is credited for being the pioneer of breakfast shows in the country because of her successful show Day breaker. Read more about Tina.
Nigeria – Dr. Ike Neliaku Dr. Ike Neliaku is a resourceful professional, pub lic relations practitioner and marketplace entre preneur, with a wealth of experience spanning over 30 years in development and strategic com munication, public administration, leadership and governance, and business management. He is the President and Chairman of the Governing Council, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations. He worked in the public service of Nigeria for over 20 years, holding key positions in Federal Ministries and The Presidency at different times.
Rwanda – Emma Claudine Ntirenganya Emma Claudine Ntirenganya is a communications professional with over 7 years of experience in jour nalism and program management in radio broad casting and over 10 years in the communication and behaviour change field. She currently serves as the Director General for Communication and Education at the City of Kigali, overseeing media relations, public awareness, civic education, and behaviour change activities.
Zambia – Irene Lungu Chipili Irene has a diverse portfolio in strategic communication embracing environmental management, Corporate Social Responsibility, and governance. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Uni versity of Zambia (UNZA), a Master of Science in Project Management from Cavendish University, and a Master of Public Relations from the National Institute of Public Administration. She is currently Head Corporate Affairs and Marketing at the Zam bia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation PLC (ZAFFICO).
Zimbabwe – Thandolwenkosi Nkomo Thandolwenkosi is a communications specialist with over 18 years of experience gained from work ing in the media industry, academia, public relations consulting, and humanitarian health communica tions.
He is skilled in designing and delivering im pactful communication strategies that leverage on media networks, community engagement and con tent creation thus playing key roles in the COVID-19 response campaign in Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, Bulawayo, and in a USAID-funded COVID-19 infodemic response campaign implemented in the southern parts of Zimbabwe. Read more about Thando.
Kenya – Patricia Ndede Patricia Ndede represents Kenya. She is a media and Communications expert with over 22 years’ experience handling various international brands. Patricia is the current Vice President of Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK), a member of the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), a mem ber of the Marketing Society of Kenya (MSK) and Editors Guild.
She is also the CEO of Simori Communications which is a Communications Agency specializing in government communica tions. She brings a lot of media background and experience having previously worked with Kenya’s Leading Newspaper, the Nation Media Group as a Sub-Editor and writer.
Malawi – Benson Linje Benson Linje is the President of the Public Rela tions Society of Malawi. He is a seasoned com munications professional with over 15 years of ex perience, currently working as a communications lead at the British High Commission. Before joining the UK Mission in Malawi, Benson was a commis sioned military officer with Malawi Defence Forc es where he served as a Public Affairs Officer and advisor to the Chief of Defence Forces and other Commanders of various formations on informa tion operations.
During his military life, Benson deployed under the United Nations to Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and DRC where he served as Civil-Mil itary Relations and Information Operations Officer respectively.
