The AU Staff Association Certificate Award Ceremony for the AU Retirees – 2021 & 2022

Excellencies

Dear Colleagues

It is great pleasure to be part of this inaugural significant occasion planned to recognize and celebrate heroic human endeavor and long service of Staff to our premier institution, the African Union and to our continent – Africa.

This occasion enjoins all of us to ponder upon the vision of the African Union 

“An Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.”

It is my considered view that through several years of your hard work, through your dedication and diligence to advance the Africa agenda as Staff of the African Union Commission, you contributed to Africa to move closer and nearer towards achieving its noble vision. It is for this reason that on behalf of AU, as the Deputy Chairperson of the Commission I wish to utilize this opportunity to express most sincere gratitude to you all here present and those who could not join this occasion physically.

We thank you that over the years of employment within the African Union system, you took upon yourselves a responsibility to shoulder the hopes and aspirations of the citizens of Africa by delivering programmes, and you provided solid support to ensure sustainable pioneering spirit of the African Union, not only in Africa, but also at a global arena. It is for this reason that today we wish to express our profound thanks for your exceptional contribution to the realization of the objectives of African Union Commission.

While thanking the colleagues who have served the AU with distinction and have now retired, I am pleased to also take this opportunity to recognized another category of excellence and exceptional leadership.

Fellow citizens and African patriots

We are emerging from the era of Covid-19 and it is with great satisfaction that I should take this opportunity to recognize outstanding leadership of our two cadres:

Dr. Naftal Kilenga and

Dr. John Nkengasong

It is hard to imagine the AU response to Covid-19 that is acclaimed internationally, without thinking about the outstanding leadership and sacrifices of Dr. Kilenga and Dr. Nkengasong.

It is thus not by coincidence that these two colleagues who demonstrated high caliber service are part of this occasion, but it is their well-recognized actions to steer the AU response to Covid-19.

On behalf of AU and AUC, I wish to thank them for selfless sacrifices and I also wish to congratulate them on recognition by their fellow colleagues and their peers who are saying “well done brothers and fare thee well.”

I wish to conclude by observing that AU Staff do not leave but change the geographical location – you will still be in Africa, as Africa is in your heart, and you will have a chance to interact with your organization, the AU Commission, at different levels.

I wish you well, good health and productive new endeavors. 

I thank you