The Chairperson of the African Union, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed four special envoys on Sunday 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”. Rwandan economist Donald Kaberuka, former president and chairman of the board of directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) was named along with Trevor Manuel, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Tidjane Thiam. Chairperson of the @_AfricanUnion, His Excellency President @CyrilRamaphosa of the Republic of South Africa, has appointed Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Dr Donald Kaberuka, Mr Tidjane Thiam & Mr Trevor Manuel as Special Envoys of the @_AfricanUnion #AfricaResponds #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/D2zPol0jHU — AUChair2020 (@AUChair2020) April 12, 2020 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”. “Their role is 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”, says Ramaphosa in a statement. He added that they will also be tasked with ensuring the pledges of support from the international community translate into concrete action on the ground. Who are the appointed envoys? Kaberuka Kaberuka is an economist and former president and chairman of the board of directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB). He served as Rwanda’s finance minister until 2005, when he was named the AfDB President, a position he headed for 10 years. In 2016 Kaberuka was appointed as a special envoy of the African Union on sustainable financing for the AU and funding for peace in Africa. He also currently the Board Chair of the Global Fund and also sits on President Paul Kagame’s advisory council. Trevor Manuel Trevor Manuel was the longest-serving minister of finance in South Africa and formerly headed the country’s National Planning Commission. In 2018 he was appointed as an investment envoy by President Ramaphosa to engage domestic and international investors as part of the country’s national investment drive. Okonjo-Iweala She is an internationally respected economist and development expert having served two terms as Nigeria’s minister of finance. She also served as managing director of the World Bank. Thiam Tidjane The native of Cote d’Ivoire, Tidjane 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 has a background in management consulting and worked for McKinsey and Company. Ramaphosa 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 the grave public health emergency precipitated by Covid-19. The World Bank warned on Thursday that sub-Saharan Africa could slip into its first recession in a quarter of century because of the coronavirus pandemic on the world’s most impoverished continent. “We project that economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa will decline from 2.4 percent in 2019 to -2.1 to -5.1 percent in 2020, the first recession in the region in 25 years,” the Bank said in an assessment. COVID-19 has so far been diagnonsed in over 9,000 people on the African continent, with the death toll currently at over 440 people. A latest report by World Bank projected that the economies on the continent will take a major hit from the virus, with growth projected to be -5.1 per cent.
