President Akufo-Addo has announced a state burial for former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
The President made the announcement when the family of the global peace icon called on him at the Jubilee House in Accra on Friday.
[contextly_sidebar id=”Y10JmmRI9QcpFap0HhrfpefO2BLkMucQ”]Akufo-Addo, who proposed Thursday, September 13, 2018, for the burial, said the government will take full responsibility of the ceremony.
He further revealed that Kofi Annan will be buried at the new military cemetery at Burma Camp in Accra.
“Burma Camp has created a new cemetery and there is a portion that has been allocated for VIPs; civilian VIPs and I think it will be the most appropriate place to lay him to rest…That will be the arrangement of the state. This is a state funeral so the responsibility for the arrangements are that of the Ghanaian state. Your bit is to mourn, but you will not have any of the financial burdens involved in organizing such a thing; that will be borne by the state of Ghana.”
According to the Kofi Annan Foundation, the funeral in Accra will be followed by other memorial events which will be held in New York and Geneva.
“This will be followed by UN memorial events in New York and Geneva. The dates for those events will be announced in due course. The family has kindly asked that no flowers be sent. For those still wishing to have their thoughts and support reflected in a gift, they suggest a contribution to the Kofi Annan Foundation, the foundation stated.
Kofi Annan, the celebrated Ghanaian diplomat, died in the Swiss capital of Bern, in the early hours of Saturday, August 18, 2018.
Several tributes have been pouring in from across the world since his demise.
The Government of Ghana directed that the country’s flags should be flown in Ghana and in all the country’s missions at half-mast for a week beginning Monday, August 20, 2018.
About Kofi Annan
The 80-year old Ghanaian diplomat served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006.
Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.
He was awarded the Peace Prize for having revitalized the UN and for having given priority to human rights.
The Nobel Committee also recognized his commitment to the struggle of containing the spread of HIV in Africa and his declared opposition to international terrorism.
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.
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By: Jonas Nyabor & Sammi Wiafe/citinewsroom.com/Ghana
