Question NW592 to the President of the Republic
18 May 2020 - NW592
Msane, Ms TP to ask the President of the Republic
What are the criteria that he applied, as Chairperson of the African Union, for appointing Mr Trevor Manuel as one of the African Union’s COVID-19 Special Envoys?
Reply:
The COVID-19 pandemic has been declared a global emergency crisis and is having a devastating impact on public health systems of many countries and the global economy.
Consequently, the African Union (AU) Bureau of Heads of State and Government, under the Chairship of President Cyril Ramaphosa, agreed to call upon the international community including the G20, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, African Development Bank and other regional institutions to use all the instruments available to help mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic and provide relief to vital sectors of African economies.
To implement the AU Heads of State Bureau decision, the President as chair of the African union and supported by AU Heads of State Bureau established a panel of envoys of former finance ministers and prominent individuals with experience in the financial sector to mobilise support for Africa’s efforts to raise funds.
These envoys, who are drawn from different regions of the continent, are Mr Trevor Manuel, former Minister of Finance of South Africa; Dr Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, former Minister of Finance of Nigeria; Dr Donald Kabureka, former President of the Africa Development Bank; Mr Tidjane Thiam, former Chief Executive of Credit Suisse; and Mr Benkhalfa Abderrahmane, former Finance Minister of Algeria.