Covid-19: President appoints team to mobilise international support
The appointment of the special envoys would expedite the process of securing economic support to enable countries on the continent to respond swiftly to this public health emergency.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, as chairman of the African Union (AU), has appointed special envoys to mobilise international support promised by the European Union, G20 countries and financial institutions to fight the coronavirus pandemic on the continent.
“In light of the devastating socio-economic and political impact of the pandemic on African countries, these institutions need to support African economies that are facing serious economic challenges with a comprehensive stimulus package, including deferred debt and interest payments,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the two recent letters written to the G20 by a group of world leaders and a team of economists had expressed the importance of bolstering health systems in poorer countries. He added that this could only be done with the support of the international community.
The envoys are Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Dr Donald Kaberuka, Mr Tidjane Thiam and Mr Trevor Manuel. Okonjo-Iweala served two terms as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and has also served as Managing Director of the World Bank. Kaberuka is a former President and Chairman of the African Development Bank, the former Finance Minister of Rwanda and in 2016 was appointed as a special envoy of the African Union on sustainable financing and funding for Peace in Africa.
Manuel was the longest-serving Minister of Finance in South Africa. In 2018 he was appointed as an investment envoy to engage investors as part of the country’s national investment drive. Thiam is a banker and is the former Chief Executive Officer of Credit Suisse and has worked for McKinsey and Company.
The appointment of the special envoys would expedite the process of securing economic support to enable countries on the continent to respond swiftly to this public health emergency, said Ramaphosa.
“The AU is immensely encouraged by the support that has been extended by the international community thus far. It is an affirmation that as nations of the world, we are all in this together. We must now focus on efforts to marshal every resource at our disposal to ensure that this pandemic is contained, and does not result in the collapse of already ailing economies and financial systems on the continent,” he said.
