The Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was on Friday named African Finance Minister of the year for her outstanding performance in office.
The award was presented to her by the African Investor Magazine on the sideline of the ongoing annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF, in Washington DC.
While thanking the organizers of the award ceremony, Okonjo-Iweala called on all investors in Africa to join the fight against the deadly Ebola virus disease that is ravaging some countries in West Africa.
“What is happening in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra-Leone and the success we had in Nigeria and Senegal in containing this virus should not be allowed to set Africa back.
“You as private sector and friends of Africa need to send the message that we should not be so afraid of Ebola that we stigmatize the whole continent.
“I think that it is only with your own leadership, as African investors, that the rest of the world can see which way they should pass. So, I am really urging you to be ambassadors to the continent,” she said.
The finance minister also used the opportunity to encourage African leaders to sustain the successes that have been recorded in the past despite the challenges facing the continent.
“We are not shying away from these challenges but the turning point now is that we are in the continent where we have the political will and confidence to tackle these challenges.
“I think that we as Africans must always take the lead because if we don’t solve our problems, nobody can do it for us,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
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