South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa who is the current African Union (AU) chair, on Friday night convened a critical teleconference with several African Heads of State, French President Emmanuel Macron and World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus to discuss the coronavirus pandemic.

The teleconference comprised president Emmerson Mnangagwa, Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Felix Tshisekedi (Democratic Republic of Congo), Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (Egypt), Macky Sall (Senegal), Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (Mali) and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

The meeting must have been a lesson for Mnangagwa who has recently been summoning people for meetings at State House against Coronavirus lockdown regulations that prohibit face to face meetings and travelling.

He recently held meetings with his cabinet ministers, church leaders, traditional leaders and business community at his official residence contradicting his own decree on meetings and movements during the 21 Day Lockdown.

In the teleconference, the leaders resolved to ratchet up the fight against Covid-19 through enhanced coordination.

Chairperson of the AU Commission Dr Moussa Faki was also part of the high-level discussions.

The parties focused on synchronising efforts as well as lobbying global support for debt relief and a financial package for African countries to save lives.

President Mnangagwa on Saturday described the virtual indaba as “very important”.

“Very important call last night with leaders from across the region. This virus respects no borders. We must work together,” the President said on his official Twitter account.