Charles Molele
President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa to coordinate a private sector-led continental effort to procure critical personal protective equipment (PPE) and other essential supplies in the fight against COVID-19 in the African continent.
Ramaphosa made the announcement on Friday during a virtual meeting with heads of state and government of neighbouring countries to share their views on a coordinated responses to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Participants in the virtual consultative meeting included heads of government from Angola, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Ramaphosa said the biggest challenge facing the continent at the moment in the fight against COVID-19 was access to personal protection equipment.
“I have appointed Zimbabwean business person Strive Masiyiwa to assist with efforts to source personal protection equipment for the region and the continent,” Ramaphosa told heads of government during the virtual meeting on Friday.
“As the AU Bureau, we met with several of Africa’s business leaders to seek their assistance in ramping up local production of these items and sourcing them from other parts of the world … I have also engaged with the leaders of various countries, such as Cuba, China, Russia, France, Canada and the United States to ask for support for the continent.”
Masiyiwa is the founder and executive chairman of Econet Wireless, a global telecommunications company whose activities include mobile cellular telephony, fixed networks, enterprise networks, fibre optic cables and satellite services.
The Group’s companies also provide payment solutions to banks across Africa. Ramaphosa said neighbouring countries should work together to curb the spread of the virus.
“This virus does not respect borders, nor distinctions of nationality,” said Ramaphosa. “Considering the social and economic linkages between our countries, when one of us is vulnerable, we are all vulnerable.”
He also updated the heads of government, saying the Bureau of the Assembly of AU Heads of State and Government agreed on the establishment of the AU COVID-19 Response Fund, a drive to raise additional funds for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and intensive lobbying of the international community, including the international financial institutions, for a comprehensive, robust economic stimulus package for Africa.
“To date, we have managed to raise $25 million for the Response Fund and an additional $36.5 million to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention,” Ramaphosa said.
“We have also appointed five African Union COVID-19 Special Envoys to follow up on pledges, mobilise further international support and campaign for international participation in the AU’s COVID-19 economic intervention. The five envoys are Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria, Dr Donald Kaberuka of Rwanda, Mr Tidjane Thiam of Côte d’Ivoire, Mr Trevor Manuel of South Africa and Mr Benkhalfa Abderrahmane of Algeria.”
“We have addressed the virtual Summit of the G20 and a virtual joint meeting of the World Bank and IMF, where we called for, among other measures, the allocation of more Special Drawing Rights Allocations to Africa to provide much-needed liquidity to central banks, the corporate sector and SMEs.”
