Information Minister-designate Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said the late Kofi Annan must be celebrated for his immense contribution to global peace and drastic reforms at the United Nations.
The former Ghanaian diplomat died in Switzerland Saturday after a short illness.
Speaking on Morning Starr, Monday, 20 August 2018, the MP for Ofoase Ayiribi urged Ghanaians and leaders in particular to emulate the illustrious son to keep the flag of the country flying on the global landscape.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah noted Mr. Annan, the first black African to have occupied the Secretary-General position of the UN, must be honoured.
He said the government is in touch with the deceased family to provide a befitting funeral for the global icon and statesman.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah revealed that a book of condolence will be opened from Wednesday in Accra and all Ghana Missions to allow the public to pay their respect to the 80-year-old diplomat.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has directed that all flags should fly at half-mast from today as a sign of respect to Mr. Annan.
“He was an ardent believer in the capacity of the Ghanaian to chart his or her own course onto the path of progress and prosperity,” said President Akufo-Addo in a statement adding; “Undoubtedly, he excelled in the various undertakings of his life, leaving in his trail most pleasant memories. His was a life well-lived.”
The Man Kofi Annan
Mr. Annan was the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations.
He was appointed as the Secretary-General on 13 December 1996 by the Security Council and later confirmed by the General Assembly, making him the first officeholder to be elected from the UN staff itself.
He was re-elected for a second term in 2001 and was succeeded as Secretary-General by Ban Ki-moon on 1 January 2007.
Kofi Atta Annan was born on 8 April 1938 in Kumasi, in the Ashanti region of Ghana.
Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.
He is the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organization founded by Nelson Mandela.
Annan went on to study economics at Macalester College, international relations from the Graduate Institute Geneva and management at MIT. Annan joined the UN in 1962, working for the World Health Organization’s Geneva office.
He went on to work in several capacities at the UN Headquarters including serving as the Under-Secretary-General for peacekeeping between March 1992 and December 1996.
As the Secretary-General, Annan reformed the UN bureaucracy; worked to combat HIV, especially in Africa; and launched the UN Global Compact. He has been criticized for not expanding the Security Council and faced calls for resignation after an investigation into the Oil-for-Food Programme.
After leaving the UN, he founded the Kofi Annan Foundation in 2007 to work on international development. In 2012, Annan was the UN–Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria, to help find a resolution to the ongoing conflict there.
Annan quit after becoming frustrated with the UN’s lack of progress with regard to conflict resolution. In September 2016, Annan was appointed to lead a UN commission to investigate the Rohingya crisis.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
