2024 urshered in new expectations and anticipations for Africans across the continent and Presidents and Heads of State followed suit with speaches and New Year messages.
Here are the New Year speeches from 10 African leaders
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu
Dear Compatriots,
It gives me immense joy to welcome each and every one of you – young and old- to this brand new year 2024. We must lift up our hands to Almighty God, in gratitude, for his grace and benevolence to our country and our lives in the year 2023 that has just gone by.
Though the past year was a very challenging one, it was eventful in so many ways. For our country, it was a transition year that saw a peaceful, orderly and successful transfer of power from one administration to another, marking yet another remarkable step in our 24 years of unbroken democracy.
It was a year, you the gracious people of this blessed nation, entrusted your faith in me with a clear mandate to make our country better, revamp our economy, restore security within our borders, revitalise our floundering industrial sector, boost agricultural production, increase national productivity and set our country on an irreversible path towards national greatness that we and future generations will forever be proud of.
The task of building a better nation and making sure we have a Nigeria society that cares for all her citizens is the reason I ran to become your President. It was the core of my Renewed Hope campaign message on the basis of which you voted me as President.
Everything I have done in office, every decision I have taken and every trip I have undertaken outside the shores of our land, since I assumed office on 29 May 2023, have been done in the best interest of our country.
Over the past seven months of our administration, I have taken some difficult and yet necessary decisions to save our country from fiscal catastrophe. One of those decisions was the removal of fuel subsidy which had become an unsustainable financial burden on our country for more than four decades. Another was the removal of the chokehold of a few people on our foreign exchange system that benefited only the rich and the most powerful among us. Without a doubt, these two decisions brought some discomfort to individuals, families and businesses.
I am well aware that for some time now the conversations and debates have centred on the rising cost of living, high inflation which is now above 28% and the unacceptable high under-employment rate.
From the boardrooms at Broad Street in Lagos to the main streets of Kano and Nembe Creeks in Bayelsa, I hear the groans of Nigerians who work hard every day to provide for themselves and their families.
I am not oblivious to the expressed and sometimes unexpressed frustrations of my fellow citizens. I know for a fact that some of our compatriots are even asking if this is how our administration wants to renew their hope.
Dear Compatriots, take this from me: the time may be rough and tough, however, our spirit must remain unbowed because tough times never last. We are made for this period, never to flinch, never to falter. The socio-economic challenges of today should energize and rekindle our love and faith in the promise of Nigeria. Our current circumstances should make us resolve to work better for the good of our beloved nation. Our situation should make us resolve that this new year 2024, each and every one of us will commit to being better citizens.
Silently, we have worked to free captives from abductors. While we can’t beat our chest yet that we have solved all the security problems, we are working hard to ensure that we all have peace of mind in our homes, places of work and on the roads.
Having laid the groundwork of our economic recovery plans within the last seven months of 2023, we are now poised to accelerate the pace of our service delivery across sectors.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa
My fellow South Africans,
We have come to the end of another year.
It has been a difficult year for many South Africans.
Yet, despite the many challenges that our country is facing, we do have cause for hope and optimism.
Our hope and our optimism are based on the knowledge that we have faced many hardships in the past and have overcome them.
I therefore firmly believe that better days lie ahead.
In 2024, we will mark 30 years since we attained our freedom. This freedom we attained ushered in enormous changes in our country.
As we reflect on our journey over three decades, we are reminded of how far we have come and of the important progress we have made together.
The findings of Census 2022, which were released earlier this year, relate to how our country has been transformed in a number of respects to enable South Africans to lead lives of dignity.
In South Africa today, nearly 9 out of 10 households live in formal dwellings.
Close to 95 per cent have access to electricity. Eight out of ten households have access to water either inside their dwellings or in their yards.
The proportion of young people in education has grown dramatically. Matric pass rates have improved and a far greater proportion of adults have completed high school.
This is a country that is moving ahead with determination and purpose to steadily reduce the poverty that we inherited in 1994.
Just as we continue to work to overcome the legacy of our past, so too will we rise to meet our current challenges: unemployment, poverty, crime, gender-based violence, rising food prices and a severe electricity crisis.
It is the poorest of the poor who are the worst affected.
To address these challenges we are at work to rebuild our economy and our society in the wake of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.
Notwithstanding the many setbacks that we have had to confront, our economy has proven to be resilient and is now larger than it was before the pandemic struck.
Under difficult conditions, we have recovered the jobs lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While we experienced some of the worst load shedding ever in the first few months of 2023, through an intense focus on implementing the Energy Action Plan, there has since been a steady decline in the severity of load shedding.
Through regulatory changes and other measures, we are seeing massive new investments in energy generation and the installation of rooftop solar.
We are encouraged by the confidence of local businesses and international investors in our country’s prospects. We continue to attract new investment, which supports the growth of local businesses and creates more jobs.
Government departments, Transnet, industry and other social partners are working closely to relieve congestion at our ports and increase the volumes of freight being carried on our key rail corridors.
To address the crisis of unemployment, the government has undertaken a number of interventions, including the Presidential Employment Stimulus.
This initiative represents the largest expansion of public employment in our country’s history.
It has provided life-changing opportunities to more than 1.2 million unemployed South Africans in a number of sectors, including education, agriculture, environmental management and conservation, science and innovation, and the creative sector.
This year, Parliament passed a number of laws aimed at further improving the lives of South Africans.
These laws include the National Health Insurance Bill, which will pave the way for equality in the provision of health care services to our people.
We are making progress in the fight against corruption, including bringing those responsible for state capture to justice. We are putting in place laws, institutions and practices that reduce the potential for corruption.
To build communities that are safe and secure, the South African Police Service has established specialised task teams to tackle organised and violent crime, as well as crimes of economic sabotage.
To bolster our fight against criminality we have trained and continue to train thousands of new police men and women.
In advancing our country’s development, we will remain engaged in matters of global concern.
We will continue to work to ensure that those countries with the greatest responsibility for global warming support developing economies to respond to the effects of climate change.
As a country that itself emerged from a bitter past to build a united nation, we will continue to work for reconciliation, peace and an end to conflict and war.
We have maintained a principled position against the continued oppression of the Palestinian people and reaffirmed our support for their quest for full nationhood.
We are deeply concerned by the onslaught against the residents of Gaza and the West Bank. We condemn all violence against civilians, both Palestinian and Israeli.
We call for an immediate ceasefire and dialogue towards a lasting and peaceful resolution of the conflict.
At this time, we pay tribute to the courage, resilience and determination of the South African people, who have shown time and again their ability to rise above difficulty and embrace their common humanity.
South Africa is a nation of heroes, many of them unseen and unknown.
Our nation’s sportsmen and women made our country proud this year.
We were inspired by the victory of the Springboks at the Rugby World Cup, which they won for the fourth time, more than any other nation.
The achievements of our Special Olympians made our spirits soar as a nation.
I thank all those people who are working day-by-day to make our country a better place, from healthcare workers to entrepreneurs, from policemen and women to firefighters, from teachers to farmers and farmworkers, from religious leaders to public servants.
We remember with sadness the many compatriots that we have lost over the last year to disease, to crime, to road accidents and to natural disasters.
We mourn the recent loss of life and property in floods and fires in different parts of the country. We salute the rapid response teams that responded to these disasters.
Just a few days ago we learnt of the tragic passing of the great Mbongeni Ngema, whose creative work entertained and inspired South Africans over many decades.
As the old year draws to an end and a new year dawns, let us recall the words that he penned:
“We must come together and realise as a nation that unity is our responsibility. Love for our nation is the key for the future, for peace and our prosperity.”
It has always been our greatest strength that we are able to come together in times of difficulty, anchored by our shared commitment to our country.
As long as we remain united, as long as we continue to work together, and as long as we are united around our common vision, we will succeed and go farther.
As we look back on the year that has passed and the challenges it has brought, we must look to the future with hope. We must continue to move forward.
We must never lose our courage and we must remain determined to leave no one behind.
I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.
Cameroon’s President Paul Biya
Fellow Cameroonians,
My Dear Compatriots,
Over the past year which is drawing to an end, our country has been faced with numerous challenges.
Some of them result from an increasingly difficult international context. Others are due to purely domestic issues, most of which are long-standing.
I would like to start by assuring you that in spite of this difficult situation, we continued to cope, together, like the united and close-knit Nation that we have always been, our eyes riveted on a single objective, the only one that matters, namely progress.
As in the past, the said international context weighed heavily on our internal situation.
The lingering war in Eastern Europe continued to disrupt the supply channels of the global consumer products market.
Foodstuff and energy resource prices thus continued to rise as the conditions for accessing external financing tightened.
The resurgence, last October, of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict worsened the rifts within the international community and is now monopolizing its attention.
As expected, such a situation adversely impacted our country. It led to a general price hike in consumer products and, consequently, the cost of living. It also resulted in various types of shortages, including a shortage of petroleum products.
My Dear Compatriots,
The difficulties that I have just mentioned in no way dampened my resolve to work for the well-being of our people, who, without any doubt, massively trusted and continue to trust me.
Despite the unfavourable context, the Government, under my authority, continued its action with greater determination.
The laudable efforts made following the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure economic recovery yielded appreciable outcomes. The resilience of our economy was confirmed.
Proof of this is our growth rate which continued to progress and was estimated at 3.9% in 2023, thanks notably to the performance of the non-oil sector.
The consumption support measures implemented by the Government helped to contain and stabilize inflation at about 6.7%.
The implementation of various projects was continued or launched to meet the aspirations of the people and improve their well-being.
I would like to dwell for a moment on the most sensitive sectors.
The Project to Supply Drinking Water to the City of Yaounde and its Environs from the River Sanaga is virtually completed. Its imminent commissioning will help to substantially reduce the drinking water deficit in the city of Yaounde.
Studies on the Project to Supply Drinking Water to the City of Douala and its Environs are well advanced. In the long term, the city will be supplied an additional 400 thousand cubic metres of water daily.
Moreover, the Government has embarked on upgrading drinking water production stations in several secondary towns, namely Dschang, Yabassi, Garoua-Boulai, etc.
The requisite efforts will continue to be deployed to rehabilitate and extend the distribution networks of this precious resource in our towns and villages to make it more accessible to households.
Major strides were also made in the electricity sector to reduce our country’s energy deficit.
About 44 thousand solar panels have been installed in the three northern regions, covering 40% of electricity needs in the said regions.
The 420-megawatt Nachtigal Dam will be commissioned in the coming days.
The Lom Pangar Dam-toe plant will also be operational in 2024. It will help to increase energy supply in the town of Bertoua and its environs.
Several other hydropower facility projects are also planned or being launched. These include the Kikot, Minkouma, Grand Eweng and Bini à Warak dams.
In the long term, the installed capacity of all these facilities will secure our country’s electric energy self-sufficiency. Additionally, it will make us reach the enviable status of an electricity-exporting country.
My Dear Compatriots,
I am aware of the extent to which the frequent water and electricity cuts are impacting your daily life and disrupting your activities.
I can assure you that the Government is sparing no effort to improve the situation in these core sectors.
I have instructed my Office to ensure celerity in administrative procedures and in sourcing for related financing by the relevant ministries.
The same instructions have been given with respect to the need to improve the situation of our road infrastructure.
As you must be aware, this problem is at the core of my concerns. The related challenges are multiple, the most acute of them being the inadequacy of financial resources.
However, I am pleased to note that we are also making relentless progress in this sector.
I am therefore satisfied that, during this year ending, over 700 kilometres of roads were asphalted or rehabilitated nationwide. Several related highway engineering structures were also built in the process.
Construction works on the Lékié loop, as well as the Kumba-Ekondo Titi and Babadjou-Bamenda roads, are ongoing and will be continued at a satisfactory pace.
Regarding the Ebolowa-Kribi road, negotiations with donors, which for long were stalled by environmental issues, are finally being concluded. All the requisite measures will be taken to ensure that the construction of this road, so eagerly awaited by the populations concerned, effectively starts in 2024.
I recently issued instructions for the rehabilitation of the Ngaoundere-Garoua road. Negotiations are also ongoing with our financial partners for the completion of construction works on the Mora-Dabanga-Kousseri road and the rehabilitation of the Edea-Kribi and Douala-Bafoussam roads.
The repair of urban road networks is continuing in the towns of Maroua and Ngaoundere. The related programme will extend to other regional headquarters.
Motorway projects will not be left out during the coming year, particularly, the launching of the construction of the urban section of the Yaounde-Nsimalen motorway and that of Phase 2 of the Yaounde-Douala motorway.
Additionally, faced with the worsening situation, I have instructed the Government to urgently find a lasting solution to the problem of household garbage collection in our cities, in collaboration with Councils and City Councils.
Fellow Cameroonians,
My Dear Compatriots,
Over the past weeks, you were faced with a shortage of petroleum products, suffering many inconveniences as a result. To address this situation, I have instructed the Government to take urgent measures to ensure constant supply of the market.
However, the challenges in the sector are broader and more complex.
You must be aware that to maintain pump prices of fuel at their current levels, which are far below those in neighbouring countries, the State has to make huge financial sacrifices to subsidize petroleum product imports.
The burden of these subsidies weighs heavily on our budget and significantly reduces the much-needed resources to address other problems facing our people.
Last year, the Government increased slightly the pump prices of fuel.
As a result, the subsidy on petroleum products decreased from over 1,000 billion CFA francs in 2022 to around 640 billion CFA francs in 2023.
However, this subsidy continues to weigh heavily on public coffers.
Though we will most certainly have no choice but to reduce it further, we will ensure that the requisite adjustments do not significantly impact the purchasing power of households.
Ultimately, the rehabilitation of SONARA, which must be expedited as I have instructed, should help to improve the situation in this sector.
My Dear Compatriots,
Despite the Government’s goodwill, it is clear that the implementation of various projects to meet our people’s aspirations faces a major impediment, namely inadequacy of the required financial resources.
This is why I have repeatedly ordered the Government to streamline public spending and find new ways and means of boosting public resources.
Regarding the reduction of public spending, I have strongly reiterated my previous instructions to the Government to reduce recurrent expenditure.
Actions implemented to combat corruption and misappropriation of public funds are essential for protecting public resources. They will be intensified in the coming year.
The Three-Year Integrated Import Substitution Plan for 2024-2026, which I have instructed the Government to implement, is also part of my effort to enable our country to save on its precious resources.
This plan should help to reduce the negative impact of imports on our trade balance by strengthening our food sovereignty. Its deficit is estimated at just over 1 500 billion CFA francs per year.
To increase public resources, there is a need to explore new avenues, given the constraints of broadening the tax base and the slump in oil revenue.
In this regard, solid minerals, especially old, appear to be an excellent niche for financial resources.
Our country is richly endowed with mineral resources that need to be exploited.
I am delighted that the mining projects I announced last year for the development of the Kribi-Lobé, Bipindi-Grand Zambi, and Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore deposits have been launched.
Improving the business climate is clearly a prerequisite for attracting foreign investment and creating a robust private sector that should facilitate our transition to emergence through dynamic job and wealth creation.
Trust in the judicial system is inevitable for perception of the business climate. As you are aware, the judiciary is one of the pillars of the rule of law.
Therefore, it is imperative that it should act with complete impartiality and should be impervious to any manner of interference. I would like to assure you that, as guarantor of its independence, I will continue to take all the requisite measures to ensure its proper functioning.
My Dear Compatriots,
Allow me to say a few words about the national education sector. Despite the Government’s efforts, calm has not been fully restored therein.
Yet, according to stakeholders, the Government has made commendable efforts in this regard.
In addition to the various types of measures taken by the relevant ministries, more than 72 billion CFA francs was disbursed in 2023 to cover related expenses.
An additional amount of 102 billion CFA francs has also been provided in the State budget for the 2024 financial year to cover residual expenditure.
Therefore, it will be difficult for us to accept that a handful of teachers, who seem to have ulterior motives, should continue to hold our children’s education hostage.
Let me be clear on this issue. As much as I am committed to ensuring that teachers practise their noble profession under appropriate conditions, I am equally uncompromising about respect for the right of our young people to education. Strong measures will be taken to ensure that our children do not fall victim to substandard education.
Constructive dialogue will also be pursued with the recognized trade unions to address the aspirations and concerns of teachers in a peaceful manner.
My Dear Compatriots,
Regarding safety, numerous road accidents continue to plunge families into mourning and rob the country of precious human resources.
I want to make it clear that this is unacceptable! Once again, I appeal to the sense of responsibility of drivers and bus service operators. All necessary measures must be taken to ensure the safety of passengers and other road users.
The Government, for its part, will not only step up efforts to improve the state of the road network but will also rigorously apply the necessary preventive and repressive measures.
My Dear Compatriots,
Thanks to the people’s active cooperation with our defence and security forces, the situation in the North-West, South-West and Far-North Regions has improved significantly.
It is now possible to calmly implement the reconstruction and development plans for the said regions.
However, atrocities committed by terrorists have not completely disappeared. Unfortunately, civilians are the main victims.
On 6 November 2023, the town of Mamfe was the scene of a barbaric massacre of some twenty civilians in the middle of the night.
I strongly condemn such atrocities, which defy reason and have no justification whatsoever.
I encourage our fellow citizens in the regions affected by terrorism to continue to cooperate with the defence and security forces, whose courage and professionalism I salute.
I reiterate my appeal to armed groups to lay down their arms and join Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Centres. I am pleased to note that an increasing number of these combatants have responded to this call in recent weeks.
For those who persist in criminal activity, be it terrorism or organized crime, the fate that awaits them is not an enviable one. They must know that our firm determination to ensure the security of our fellow citizens will never falter.
Fellow Cameroonians,
My Dear Compatriots,
In a few weeks, our beloved Indomitable Lions will participate in the 34th Edition of the Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire. On behalf of you all, I would like to encourage and urge them to defend our country’s flag with courage and honour, as they have in the past.
I wish you all a Happy New Year, 2024.
Long Live the Republic!
Long live Cameroon!
Seychelles’ President Wavel Ramkalawan
This year, I have allowed myself to be inspired by one of our young artists, Travis and his patriotic song which speaks of the beauty of our islands, blessed, united, and cherished, where we are urged to put our country above all and to make our flag fly high. This Seychelles is, above all, the place where we treat everyone equally with the same opportunities without taking into account colour, race, religion, or other considerations, because we are Seychellois and we all get the same chances of advancement. I have been really touched by how the youth from SNYC have sung of those realities and aspirations with such emotion and love. I say a big thank you to you because you help our people to look at Seychelles, our Seychelles, with a fresh and more determined eye, a more committed heart and courage multiplied.
Yes, we all love our country and each day when we open our eyes, and at night before we rest, we look up to heaven and say thank you to God Almighty for his grace, love and blessings. As a people, I pray that we continue to walk in the path of this God who continues to protect us and let us ask that He keeps us on his path to accomplish much more in our lives, our families, our communities and our country.
At the beginning of a new year, we look back of course to express gratitude, not only for our accomplishments that make us happy and give encouragement, but also for the challenges that made us fall. So, we need in this new year to look at how we can build on the successes and to transform the weaknesses and challenges into even more determination to succeed where last year we failed. As the wise ones tell us, it is not falling that counts, but rather the courage to pick ourselves up, rise and take us further forward, stronger and even more determined to accomplish what is well and good for our brothers and sisters around us.
First of all, I want that the spirit of 7 December stays alive in the heart of each and every Seychellois. In the midst of the worst misfortune that our country has ever been through where 3 lives were lost, more than 400 residences were affected, more than 400 people found themselves in temporary accommodation and more than 635 businesses stopped their operations. But what have we experienced? A spirit of solidarity, compassion, unity and determination. During my visits, I have seen volunteers from all over – friends, foreigners, religious groups, contractors, organisations, associations and government agencies all pitching in in that morass of destruction and suffering to help and make a contribution so that this brother, sister, child of Seychelles recovers their smile and puts this nightmare behind them. We have seen youth and adults alike, friendly nations, Seychellois here and overseas, visitors and strangers put their hands deep in their pockets to contribute towards the Disaster Fund which today has reached $561,056.00, Euro – 824,445.78, GBP – 675.82, R15,108,473 which makes a total of: SCR35,292,692.71. Just from the Offertory Collection of these 2 funeral ceremonies a total of R41,000 was offered towards the disaster fund. Thank you for your solidarity.
The spirit of 7 December is a spirit of unity. We come together in solidarity to help a human friend in difficulty. Unity means, like our songs say, that we don’t look at religion, race, colour or someone’s politics. We look for what is good and well and we love our neighbour without preference. In 2024, let the spirit of unity that was manifested on the 7th December become a light that shows us the road to take to build and make our country and our people really strong. Let us seek that which unites us and let us overcome what divides us so as to strengthen our spirit of resilience, in other words, the true Seychellois spirit.
The spirit of 7 December is one of compassion and love. How many tears were shed and how many hearts shattered? But, in the midst of all, our people have shown that we are good-hearted. In 2024, let us remain a people who have a benevolent regard for our neighbours. Show our concern and remove all selfishness from our actions. Let us first of all live as good family members and as good neighbours. Remember that my freedom ends where yours commences. Love and compassion mean that your concerns are also my concerns. I will do everything for you to succeed because when you progress, I also move forward. Show compassion at all times. The scourge that destroys your child also destroys my family. The noise that you make affects me. The rubbish that you discard everywhere infects the entire community. So let us change the way we do things and live as sisters and brothers in our beautiful Seychelles. Let love and compassion reign amongst us.
The spirit of the 7th December was a resourceful spirit. I saw people taking it upon themselves to rebuild and move forward without complaint and without waiting. This is the attitude that will allow us to move forward and stand on our own two feet. Do not seek to know what my country or what the government will do for me, but rather let’s start by asking what I will do for myself, for my children, for my family, for my community and my country.
If we succeed in adopting such a way of thinking, we will all move forward and no one will be able to stand in our way. Let this spirit of resourcefulness guide us in 2024.
Seychellois brothers and sisters, we must dream for our country. Perhaps sometimes, as the sages of the past have told us, a great plan or mission begins with a dream. This is what forms the basis of all aspirations of which when combined with faith and courage, we can accomplish great works that transform humanity. Can we join with our youth to dream of that Seychelles, clean, beautiful, where citizens show respect for each other, have compassion, love and where the aspiration of each one is fulfilled because the only occasion where I will see you as beneath me is when I am holding on to your hand to make you climb higher. A Seychelles where our youth filled with strength and energy are in employment where they are delivering like thousands of others are doing and we succeed in extricating the minority who have fallen into the scourge of drug use? Where did the mercenaries stop importing that poison, drugs, to kill our youth? Can we, all of us, do this and stop generating negativity and let Positivity become the oxygen that fills our lungs and puts smiles and expressions of satisfaction on our faces?
Seychellois brothers and sisters, I share positivity with you because I believe that as a people, we can make 2024 a better year for all of us. As a people, we can make it a year of light, fulfilment and happiness for each and every Seychellois. Let’s not hesitate, but together let us make it happen. Every day, ask yourself: What is the positive thing that I will accomplish today?
My heart remains with all Seychellois. I wish all Seychellois, here and abroad, everyone who is in our country during 2024, in any life circumstances, a year filled with success, love, compassion and courage. Stand really strong and at all times keep our flag flying and sing with me ‘I love my country, blessed, cherished, I fly my flag highest of all. My country, you are above all. My Seychelles, you are above all.’
I pray that Almighty God blesses you and your family and that He blesses all Seychellois. May Almighty God bless our beautiful country in 2024.
A blessed 2024