"Some of you would recall that in 1989, soon after I took over as Secretary General of the Organization, I had an opportunity to address the staff in this very hall. My message to you then as it is now was to emphasize that we are at the service of our Pan-African Organization. We are Africa's civil servants. Our loyalty is to our continental Organization. We may come from different countries and different geographical regions. We may speak different languages. We are, however, first and foremost Africans. We should, by our actions, demonstrate our attachment and commitment to Africa as a whole. We serve the Continent. We serve its people. Through our actions, we should demonstrate in no uncertain terms that our first priority is to serve our Continent. We belong to the OAU. I therefore expect every staff member to take this commitment in the service of Africa seriously and to take his or her loyalty to the OAU as a central guiding directive." - Dr. Salim, June 12, 1997
