Cape Town — President Cyril Ramaphosa believes the new leadership of the African Union (AU) will take the continent to greater heights.
Ramaphosa concluded his visit to Ethiopia following his attendance at the AU’s 38th Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government. The theme of this year’s assembly was “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations”.
He was among some of Africa’s biggest leaders who were in attendance as Angola’s President, Joao Lorenco, was elected as AU Chair and Dr Mahmoud Ali Yousouf from Djibouti was elected as the new commission chair.
During the assembly, South Africa’s Presidency of the G20 Summit was noted and congratulated as the first African country to hold the prestigious title.
“It expressed its support for the successful G20 Leaders Summit scheduled to take place later this year in Johannesburg. The President also had bilateral meetings with a few countries on the Continent to exchange views on issues of mutual concern,” Presidency spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya said.
Yesterday President @CyrilRamaphosa concluded his visit to the Federal Republic of Ethiopia to participate at the 38th Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government of the Assembly of the African Union. https://t.co/HROiGlLo6R
— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) February 16, 2025
Speaking to the media following the outcomes of the Summit, Ramaphosa was upbeat about the new leadership of the AU and said it yielded very good outcomes for Africa.
“We’ve got a new leadership in the AU and we are quite satisfied with the outcomes of the elections. We’ve got a new AU chair, President Lorenco and we’ve got a new AU commission chair from Djibouti (Ali Youssouf).
“We think the capability of both of those leaders is just going to lift the continent to higher levels of real hands-on management of the unity process on the continent. We are also very pleased that we’ve got one of our daughters, daughter of South Africa, [Lerato] Mataboge to become a commissioner for infrastructure,” Ramaphosa said.
He said it was the cherry on top for South Africa to be the champion of infrastructure and would place the country at the centre of infrastructure development, saying Mataboge will play a key role to energise infrastructure processes throughout Africa.
“We come out of the AU meeting really pleased and excited. The meetings that have gone on in peace and security have also confirmed the positions that we took to enhance peace in the DRC,” he added.
🇿🇦His Excellency President @CyrilRamaphosa spoke to the media on conclusion of his working visit to Addis Ababa where he was attending the #AUSummit #TheAfricaWeWant#BetterAfricaBetterWorld pic.twitter.com/ceaK89edYP
— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) February 16, 2025
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: X/@ParliamentofRSA
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Matthew Petersen
