Former Minister of Trade and Industry Jean-Chrysostome Ngabitsinze was on Monday, April 29, elected as the new UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director General of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group, a specialized agency of the African Union that helps countries prepare for and respond to natural disasters. Olivier Kamana, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, was also consensually elected as the Chairperson of the ARC Bureau. Ngabitsinze and Kamana’s election was confirmed during the Fifteenth Session of the ARC Conference of the Parties (COP15), held in Kigali, where ministers, policymakers, and disaster management experts from across the continent gathered for a two-day meeting. Ngabitsinze replaces Eva Grace Kavuma, who is from Uganda. Who is Ngabitsinze? The 47-year-old agricultural economist served as Rwanda’s Minister of Trade and Industry from July 2022 until August 2024. Prior to that, he had served as Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources since March 2020. Congratulations to @Ngabitsinze on his election as @UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director General of the African Risk Capacity Group; a specialized African Union agency helping countries to better prepare for and respond to natural disasters. pic.twitter.com/lpov0FomtV — Ministry of Agriculture & Animal Resources |Rwanda (@RwandaAgri) April 29, 2025 Among other key roles, Ngabitsinze served as a Member of Parliament, where he chaired the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Previously he was a Senior Lecturer in Agricultural Economics at the University of Rwanda. He holds a PhD in agricultural economics obtained from Milan State University in Italy, a master's degree in economics from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, and a bachelor's degree in business economics from Ca' Foscari University of Venice. Ngabitsinze also sat on various national boards including the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB). He also chaired the National Land Commission. His election comes at a time the African Risk Capacity is facing major operational and financial challenges, with members states calling for concerted efforts to mobilse funds and reduce its depence on donors' support.
