MEDIA STATEMENT
TO : ALL MEDIA/NEWS EDITORS
DATE: SUNDAY, 12 APRIL 2020
AFRICAN UNION CHAIR PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA APPOINTS SPECIAL ENVOYS TO MOBILISE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC SUPPORT FOR CONTINENTAL FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19
The Chairperson of the
African Union, President of the Republic of South Africa His Excellency
Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Dr Donald
Kaberuka, Mr Tidjane Thiam and Mr Trevor Manuel as Special Envoys of the
African Union to mobilise international support for Africa’s efforts to
address the economic challenges African countries will face as a result
of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Special Envoys
will be tasked with soliciting rapid and concrete support as pledged by
the G20, the European Union and other international financial
institutions.
President Ramaphosa says: “In
the 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 for Africa, including deferred debt and
interest payments.
“The impact of the
coronavirus pandemic has been global in both scale and reach, and this
necessitates coordinated international action to capacitate all
countries to respond effectively, but most particularly developing
countries that continue to shoulder a historical burden of poverty,
inequality and underdevelopment,” President Ramaphosa said.
President
Ramaphosa added: “The sentiment expressed in two recent letters written
to the G20 by a group of world leaders and a team of esteemed
economists underscore the importance of bolstering health systems in
poorer countries; this can only be done with the support of the
international community.”
Dr Okonjo-Iweala is
an internationally respected economist and development expert and served
two terms as Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
She has also served as Managing Director of the World Bank.
Dr
Kaberuka is an economist and former President and Chairman of the Board
of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB). He is the former
Finance Minister of Rwanda and in 2016 was appointed as a Special Envoy
of the African Union on sustainable financing for the AU and funding for
Peace in Africa.
Mr Manuel was the
longest-serving Minister of Finance in the Republic of South Africa and
formerly headed the country’s National Planning Commission. In 2018 he
was appointed as an Investment Envoy by South African President Cyril
Ramaphosa to engage domestic and international investors as part of the
country’s national investment drive.
Mr Thiam
is a banker and businessman. He is the former Chief Executive Officer of
Credit Suisse and also served as Chief Financial Officer and CEO of
Prudential. He also has a background in management consulting and worked
for McKinsey and Company.
The AU Chair said
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 grave public health emergency. President
Ramaphosa said the envoys brought with them a wealth of experience and
enjoyed longstanding relationships in the international financial
community.
“The African Union 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,” President Ramaphosa
said.
Media enquiries:Khusela Diko, Spokesperson to the President on +27 72 854 5707
ISSUED BY THE PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA AND CHAIRPERSON OF THE AFRICAN UNION
www.thepresidency.gov.za