South
African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his capacity as chairperson of the
African Union (AU), said on Wednesday he has appointed four special envoys to
solicit financial support for Africa to help it contain COVID-19.
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| South African President and AU Chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa |
The four special envoys are Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria,
Donald Kaberuka of Rwanda, Tidjane Thiam of Senegal and Trevor Manuel of South
Africa.
They are tasked with soliciting financial support for the
continent’s efforts from G20 countries, international organizations and donor
communities as well as African business communities, Ramaphosa said at a
virtual conference with African business leaders in Pretoria.
The funds mobilized by the envoys will support the Africa Joint
Continental Strategy for COVID-19 Outbreak, said Ramaphosa.
“A unified and coordinated response offers us the best possible
chance of containing the outbreak,” he said.
Ramaphosa said he has encouraged the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank and other regional
institutions to use all available instruments to help combat COVID-19 in
Africa.
“I underscored the need for a comprehensive, robust economic
stimulus package for Africa,” he said.
This economic injection should support both the continent’s
immediate humanitarian needs and economic recovery, said Ramaphosa.
It would need to include deferred payments and the immediate
suspension of interest payments on Africa’s external public and private debt to
create fiscal space for COVID-19 response measures, he said.
In general, the response has been positive with various partners
making pledges, offering debt relief measures and providing concrete support in
the form of medical supplies, said Ramaphosa.
He said he has also sent letters to numerous world leaders
making a strong plea to multilateral and bilateral partners for assistance with
Africa’s COVID-19 strategy.
“In our interactions with international partners, we have
strongly urged for the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions imposed on
Zimbabwe and Sudan to allow them to adequately respond to the pandemic and save
lives,” Ramaphosa said. - Africa
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