United Nations Officials

"Well, it was women in the labour movement in the 1900s that gave us this day. They were calling for bread; they were calling for better working conditions and they were calling for peace. Guess what? We are calling for the same things today, in different ways. We are rededicating ourselves to the struggles of today. Today, for instance, we are calling for decent work because women continue to be at the bottom of the pyramid of economic activity and the work and the jobs that they do continue to be informal and to be low paid."

"We don't have a groundswell in a critical mass of countries that have allowed young people to take their rightful place. So something has to change in Africa, so that we do not have so many young people who are so desperate."

"I think that it is important that women grab the opportunities that are there. Young women must stay at school much longer. They must delay having children until they can afford to have and look after them. They must be assertive and not be afraid to talk and to engage, because this world belongs to them just as much as it belongs to men."

"The moral of the story there is that it’s important to be involved and be engaged. Being involved also showed to me the importance of having men as part and parcel of the women’s struggle."

"It's important that at a school level, in a comprehensive way, that all young people are prepared for the world of work that they will graduate into. If we do not provide those skills, we risk leaving these young people behind, they will graduate and they will be inadequate for the future that awaits them."

""One of my big takeaways from young people is courage. The courage to sometimes walk where no one has ever walked. And I also think young people are not afraid to do the work — it's not as if young people are waiting to be saved. They want to save and deliver on the number of things that they feel strong about. So it is important that as older people, we don't treat them as people we have to carry, they actually will carry us I think. "thumb|Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka 2014"

"It is important that women celebrate themselves but also that they don’t only preach to the converted and go out there and win more allies for our struggle."

"I am promoting a government of national unity where people from all walks of life; rich, poor, young, old, abled, disabled or physically challenged, people from the business community, people from media, people from academia, those who have something to offer to our country"

"It’s one national agenda. So the national agenda is the great transformational plan. So we all work together and if we have programmes we take it to parliament. In parliament, there’s no basis for quarrel because the representatives of NPP in cabinet are there."

"I want us to have a united governance mechanism and structure so that in parliament, you’ll have ministers who I have appointed from NPP, you have ministers who I have appointed from NDC, from CPP, people who are apolitical and I believe that they have the competence and the talent to help Ghana, they’re part of my cabinet so we think together"

"When you look at the industry sector, my record is there. When I was a minister, within a short time and with little resources, I was able to do a lot. Looking at the results, I was able to create over a hundred and sixty thousand direct and indirect jobs in Ghana. So when you give me the executive position, I will do well"

"And the important thing to note is that because my movement is led by the youth and powered by the youth, I have made a commitment that 60% of my cabinet ministers and government appointees will be young people"

"And 50% of those occupying senior positions will be women. So I’m just a transition candidate. My interest is to bring young people and women in particular to the centre of our governance structure"

"The current challenges that confront our economy will hopefully be a thing of the past. I want to assure you that if through your blessings and prayers, your own son becomes the leader of our party and subsequently the President of this country, I will bring the economy back to life. It will not be through my effort but by the grace and mercy of Allah"

"Fellow countrymen and women, if by the will of God and through your goodwill, I am voted first, as the flagbearer of the NPP and subsequently as President of the Republic in the next general elections, I will become the transformational leader of our time, who will build on the foundations laid by successive leaders of our nation over the last sixty-five (65) years"

"The Volta region is the stronghold of the NDC. We need to elect someone who can beat the opposition there. When I went to the Volta region, they told me after the demise of J.J. Rawlings, I am their new favorite"

"You may write me down in history, but still like dust, I rise."

"It is about creating relationships and partnerships in the face of expanding intra-Africa tourism and trade."

"As a High Commission, which was established last year in the middle of this pandemic, we have been able to make these strides, not only by our effort, but largely by this spirit and teamwork, and I want to reassure you that we are here to stay and fully committed to continue serving and facilitating this cause unreservedly."

"The AfCFTA is doable. But we first have to address the bottlenecks and barriers to trade to promote trade on the African continent."

"I’ve had situations where I had to choose between my pride and my coun­try."

"In the case of that man, I need to make him comfortable, to let him realize it’s not about his manhood but about an issue. Often when there’s a dispute, it’s about the person feeling challenged by a woman. Or maybe how we’re discussing it. I may need to go a bit lower, so that he has space to come up. Then I must make sure that when he’s starting to come up, I don’t let others pull him back down. If I make it a specific issue and the rest get on board, we all come up."

"Ghana and Rwanda share common development agenda and aspirations and we have to explore them to promote trade between two countries."

"The etablishment of a Rwandan High commission in Ghana demonstrates our commitment to promote trade between the two countries."

"Kigali is one of the fastest-growing cities in Africa and we are committed to ensuring future growth is based on very good planning."

"“Please consider the High Commission as partners and not just diplomats so we can both learn from each other."

"As beautiful and as sustainable."

"This report takes us in a new, exciting direction as its subtitle The Geography of African Investment makes clear. Instead of focusing on urban planning, this 2018 State of African cities report explores how Africa can plan to finance its development through attracting foreign direct investment (or FDI) to its cities and guides us through the complex subject of global investment in Africa."

"Relations between Rwanda and Benin are already very good and we are inspired by the commitment and visionary leadership of our Presidents."

"With such conducive environment, the ball is in our court; public servants, diplomats, the private sector, media and civil society to work hand in hand as one and deliver the best results."

"This will not be achieved unless we transform from a subsistence agriculture economy to a knowledge-based society."

"Africa can focus on trading in agriculture to transform the continent."

"As we know, Africa is urbanizing at an extraordinary rate – with tens of thousands moving to cities every day. Half of the continent is expected to be living in cities by 2030 bringing the familiar challenges – unplanned urbanization, informal settlements, poverty, inequality, unemployment humanitarian crises, conflict."

"Provision of urban infrastructure must not be an exclusive preserve but more importantly it should be people-centered."

"Governments need to build infrastructure in intermediate towns and villages for sustainability since much of the continent’s population is still rural, much depending on agriculture."

"The role of local leadership in establishing all these principles cannot be over-emphasized."

"If I have a problem with a man I’m working with, I don’t say, ‘Oh, men.’ If I say that I’m lumping together the whole constituency of men. I try to identify the specific problem with that particular person and address him as one man, so that the others who maybe don’t share that prob­lem will not be brought on board unnecessarily. Then the rest of the team will actually help us out of it. That builds trust."

"To this young men and women who sacrificed their lives to undertake an almost insurmountable task and against all odds stopped the Genocide and liberated the country some paying the ultimate price, we shall never forget you."

"To learn from, and not being defined by our Past."

"singlehandedly stopped the Genocide as the International community looked on."

"We as Team Rwanda are ready to closely work with Team Benin as one, and together we shall deliver."

"Often time people are marginalized in the process, and we are now seeing the process of development in the cities being characterized with slums due to lack of planning."

"Planning is about doing it with people, and cities can become sustainable with careful planning. The bigger the city, the more it becomes susceptible to problems. Another factor to consider also is the need to address land governance issues when planning for the development of a city."

"For urbanization to be successful and transform the lives of people, it has to be accompanied by several factors, which include planning by local government authorities and the engagement of people."

"My Mission in life has been maybe not so much to focus on myself as on the difference I make to the people I serve."

"We need to ensure that the process of engagement, will finally capture the key issues and guide the policy in a manner that captures the views of the people and provide values on research that will enable the urbanization to be implemented."

"Urbanization is not an accident, it is not something that is falling on us, it is something that we can think of, plan, lead in the way we want, and get us where we want."

"Ethiopia is one example where the housing projects in Addis Ababa have been used to create jobs."

"A recent study by the World Bank indicated that if urbanization is unplanned, we leave it to go the way it is, and we come to correct it, often it’s not less than nine times the cost financially of doing it proactively. And that’s even without the political and social complications of trying to reorganize a chaotically-settled urbanization process."

"In our quest to address the issue of urban poverty by giving aid, we have not adequately tapped in to the potential existing even in informal settlements."