Former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, who died last week, will be honoured with a full state funeral in Ghana, as announced by President Nana Akufo-Addo on Friday.
"This is a state funeral so the responsibility for the arrangements is for 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," President Akufo-Addo assured the bereaved family.
Following discussions with Annan's family, Akufo-Addo proposed 13 September 2018 for the burial and funeral rites.
The president also added that the body of Annan would be buried at a new military cemetery at the Burma Camp, with the state financing every cost.
The global peace icon died on 18 August 2018 at a hospital in Bern, Switzerland, at the ripe age of 80 after a short illness, his family said.
The family had also announced on Thursday that there would be two separate ceremonies in New York and Geneva in honour of the former UN Secretary-General.
Annan, a Ghanaian national, was the seventh Secretary-General of the UN and the first African to hold that office.
He was revered for his commitment to eradicate poverty and inequality, improve education, reduce the incidents of HIV/AIDS and protect the environment and humanity from violence.
In mourning the icon, President Cyril Ramaphosa described Annan “as a great leader and diplomat extraordinaire” who had advanced the African agenda within the United Nations and had “flown the flag for peace” around the world.
A Nobel Peace Laureate, Annan was honoured with a Doctorate in Literature and Philosophy by the University of South Africa on 17 July 2008.
He also served as the Chairperson of The Elders - an international non-governmental organisation of public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates, who were brought together by former President Nelson Mandela in 2007.
In a statement, the group described Annan as a global statesman and a deeply committed internationalist who fought throughout his life for a fairer and more peaceful world. –SAnews.gov.za-Xinhua
