Morocco’s Ambassador to South Africa Youssef Amrani conveyed his belief that extraordinary vision, strong will and good leadership could become tools that enable the African continent to quell and overcome, as well as respond to, the complexities associated with the coronavirus crisis.
In an exclusive interview on Galaxy News (GN), Amrani said that African nations need to work in unison, solve conflicts and come together with a strategy that seeks to resolve the economic, social and political challenges emanating from the negative impact of the contagion, and other pre-existing developmental impediments.
“The world will change tomorrow and we will need to adapt to the new situation with new tools. Today international organisations, unfortunately, are not able to face this challenge. The Security Council was unable to solve conflict in some regions. So therefore, we need to work and plan together.
“We need to have a strategy that tackles the economic, social and political aspects of this fight against corona. So we need to work together, sit together, plan together to build a calmer future. We have no excuse as Africans not to work together to tackle the real problems of Africa,” said
Amrani.
The diplomat also, in sending a “message of hope” to Africa, reiterated his stance that the continent needs to collaborate and come up with integral working solutions as one collective.
Furthermore, Amrani also lauded the exemplary leadership efforts of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also the chairperson of the African Union (AU).
“As far as South Africa is concerned, I think the President has taken the leadership to fight (the spread of the virus) with a unique, original and multinational approach which tackles the human and economical dimensions.
“But I think we are going to suffer a lot from this corona economically (unless) we have a strong will, real leadership and a vision we can overcome the situation. We need these three elements to be able to move forward,” he explained.
In addition, Amrani also insisted that the continent will need to prioritise ensuring, above all, that there is “peace, stability and economic development.”
Written by Katleho Errol Mogampanyane
