President Cyril Ramaphosa wishes Team South Africa the best success for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and assures the team of the nation’s fervent support.

President Ramaphosa said: “Having our flag held aloft by Team South Africa fills us with great pride and expectation for the team’s success in the Paris Games.

“Team South Africa also causes us to reflect on how our 30 years of freedom have opened the doors for South Africans from all backgrounds, walks of life and geographic locations to exercise their human potential and talents.

“The diversity of our national team reflects the unity, social inclusion and shared vision we have been able to build as a previously divided nation.

“Today, we celebrate our participation in global society, including in the sports arenas of the world.

“From rugby sevens, aquatics, fencing and archery to track and field, canoeing, cycling and golf, our flag and our good wishes will accompany our athletes as they realise their dreams, which are our collective dreams.”

President Ramaphosa assures the athletes who will perform at the Games as well as the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) of the nation’s full support.

The President similarly wishes the host nation, France, and the International Olympic Committee a successful showcase of human ability and social solidarity.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa.

His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio is among the world leaders hosted by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, at a reception at the Elysee Palace ahead of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris.

President Macron, accompanied by his wife, Brigitte Macron, warmly welcomed President Bio and over 70 Heads of State and Government on a majestic red carpet laid out in the courtyard of the Elysee Palace.

Other notable attendees included the United Kingdom Prime Minister, Keir Starmer MP, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, and Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

In addition to the heads of state, other distinguished guests at the Elysee Palace reception included the United States First Lady, Jill Biden, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres.

Following the reception, President Bio and the other world leaders proceeded to the banks of the Seine River, where thousands of spectators gathered to witness the glittering opening ceremony of the Olympic Games 2024.

The event marked the beginning of a global celebration of sportsmanship and unity, showcasing the best of international athletic talent. The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and officially branded as Paris 2024, is an international multi-sport event that will run from 26 July to 11 August 2024.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Sierra Leone.

Dozens of finance and foreign ministers met this week to call for radical action to reform the international financial architecture, empower developing countries in international institutions and channel trillions of dollars towards sustainable development in Africa and other developing countries.  

Nine years after the historic agreement on financing for development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, United Nations Member States once again convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to renew the push for sustainable development financing and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Faced with sky-high debt burdens and costs of capital, developing countries have limited prospects of financing the Sustainable Development Goals,” stated António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations in a video message to the conference. He continued: “The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development provides a unique opportunity to tackle these challenges head on. It opens the door for world leaders to adopt ambitious reforms to deliver affordable long-term financing at scale – and deliver the SDG Stimulus. And it presents a unique opportunity to reform an international financial system that is outdated, dysfunctional and unfair.”

After four years of a series of global shocks – including the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts and economic instability – the SDG financing gap for developing countries has ballooned to USD 4 trillion annually. The financing gap and accompanying debt challenges have worsened poverty and inequality, putting the world off track to meet international targets set in 2015. The challenges countries face in raising sufficient resources have laid bare structural flaws in the international financial architecture and accelerated calls for reforms.

“This meeting provided the opportunity to take stock of the steps we must take to fill the financing gaps and meet the development needs of all people around the world,” said Mr. Li Junhua, the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), and Secretary-General of the FfD4 conference. “The ministers, experts and other stakeholders that gathered here in Addis Ababa made clear that we cannot continue with business as usual and must dramatically reshape the international financial system to ensure investment where it is most needed.”

Ministers and global experts unveiled proposals for reforming the rules and governance of international taxation, and for addressing countries facing debt crises, including through new international mechanisms to resolve situations of sovereign debt default.

“The international financial architecture created nearly 80 years ago needs to be reformed to respond to the most pressing challenges of African countries in a more effective and inclusive manner,” said Mr. Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. “African countries are taking a leadership role in pressing for changes to global tax and financial systems, and they are clear that the international system needs to better support their sustainable development aspirations.”

The Preparatory Committee meeting brought together representatives of at least 103 countries, including high-level representatives, as well as representatives of multilateral development banks, United Nations system entities and other intergovernmental organizations, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. Almost 800 participants discussed the full range of financing issues, including debt, taxation, trade, private finance, development cooperation, technology and data.  

The five-day meeting was the first of four preparatory meetings to be held ahead of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) Conference taking place in Sevilla, Spain, in 2025, with a mandate from the UN General Assembly to support reform of the international financial architecture. 

Subsequent sessions of the Preparatory Committee will be held in New York in December 2024, and in February and April in 2025.  A one-day intersessional multi-stakeholder hearing will also be convened in New York in October 2024 as part of the preparatory process for the Conference.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

The ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) is proud to announce the inauguration of solarization projects at three hospitals in Ghana. These projects include a 61KWp system at Finney Hospital, a 21KWp system at Barnor Memorial Hospital, and a 30KWp system at Mother-Love Hospital.

Developed and implemented in partnership with Tradeworks Limited, a local solar energy company, these projects received technical support and co-funding from ECREEE through the ECOWAS Special Intervention Fund (ESIF). The solar systems will ensure an uninterrupted power supply to the beneficiary hospitals, significantly contributing to the provision of excellent healthcare services in their respective communities.

The inauguration ceremony at Finney Hospital was attended by several notable figures, including the Director for Renewable Energy, Mr. Seth Mahu, who represented the Honourable Minister of Energy of Ghana; the Director for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at the Energy Commission of Ghana, Mr. Kofi Agyarko, who represented the Executive Secretary; Executive Director of ECREEE, Mr. Jean Francis Sempore; the Chief Medical Director of Finney Hospital, Dr. Allen Steele-Dadzie; and the Chief Executive Officer of Tradeworks Limited, Mr. Randy Sey.

These projects mark a significant step forward in enhancing the quality of healthcare services in the region. By providing uninterrupted power supply through these solar systems, the project ensures that medical facilities can operate efficiently without the disruptions caused by power outages.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).