Graca Machel, widow of former South African President Nelson Mandela has said Kofi Annan will forever be remembered as “the Secretary-General” of the United Nations.
“He will be remembered in my view as the Secretary-General of the UN. I think there will be very few who will remember other Secretaries-General and I’m not being diplomatic here, but he is really, the one all people in the world when they say, the Secretary-General of the UN—it’s the face of Kofi Annan ,” said Graca Machel who’s in Ghana to observe the final funeral rites of Mr Annan who died last month after a protracted illness said.
“We will miss him, we will miss him very…very dearly. It is going to be very difficult to find someone who can step in his shoes,” she added.
Filing past is underway at the Accra International Conference Centre (ICC) where the funeral is being held and Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected in Ghana Thursday, September 13, to attend the final funeral service
He will be in the company of a host of other African heads of state including Alassane Dramane Ouattara of Ivory Coast, George Weah of Liberia, Hage Geingob of Namibia, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger among others, Information Minister designate Kojo Oppong Nkrumah told the media.
A distinguished son of Africa
Kofi Annan who was the seventh Secretary-General of the UN, according to the African National Congress (ANC) was an “eminent and distinguished son Africa.”
In a tribute mourning his demise, the ANC noted that he was “a great friend of the people of South Africa who played an immeasurable role in shaping the global agenda in favour of the people of the developing South.”
The ANC further noted that the man, President Akufo-Addo described as “consummate international diplomat” painstakingly utilized his tenure to advance peace and sustainable development while working determinedly to push back the frontiers of poverty and underdevelopment.
“His was a life well-lived,” President Akufo-Addo stated.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com
