Africa must shape new global order – Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has called on African leaders to take charge of shaping an emerging global order, warning that dependency threatens the continent’s future.

Delivering a keynote address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mahama said the multilateral system established after the Second World War is steadily breaking down, with global relations becoming increasingly transactional and unilateral.

He argued that Africa must no longer remain a passive observer as global power structures shift.

“Our world as we know it is at an inflection point,” Mahama told the gathering of global leaders, development partners and business executives. “Africa intends to be at the table in determining what the new global order will look like.”

Reflecting on Ghana’s post-independence journey ahead of its 70th anniversary next year, Mahama traced the continent’s struggles through coups, democratic transitions, globalisation and shifting development frameworks.

He noted that while Africa has benefited from humanitarian assistance, reliance on aid has entrenched cycles of vulnerability.

“This isn’t sovereignty. It’s a trap,” he said, referring to what he described as Africa’s “triple dependency” on external security decisions, donor-funded social systems and raw material exports that generate little local value.

Mahama warned that shrinking global humanitarian assistance and cuts to overseas development funding, particularly in Europe, have exposed the urgency for Africa to build its own capacity.

He cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a stark lesson, recalling that Africa was the last continent to access vaccines during the crisis.

Outlining Ghana’s approach, the President said his administration has prioritised execution over rhetoric.

“In Ghana, we’re proving something important — that execution beats excuses,” he said, pointing to debt restructuring, reduced government spending, digitisation of public services and youth skills training.

He said Ghana’s economic recovery, marked by improved macroeconomic stability and renewed business confidence, should serve as a building block rather than an isolated success.

“Ghana’s success alone is not enough. We must knit together the patchwork of success stories across Africa,” Mahama stated.

Central to his message was the Accra Reset Initiative, which he described as a practical blueprint rather than another declaration.

The initiative, he said, focuses on skills development, regional industrialisation, collective negotiation on critical minerals and local production of vaccines, medicines and technology.

“If we don’t make it, we’ll always be dependent on someone who does,” Mahama warned, stressing that industrial policy remains essential for survival in a competitive global economy.

He urged African leaders to negotiate as a bloc on trade, climate finance and natural resources, arguing that unity must move beyond slogans to strategy.

He also emphasised accountability, saying Africa cannot demand partnership while tolerating corruption and waste.

“We are not here to ask for charity,” Mahama said. “We are proposing a partnership of the willing, based on mutual respect and shared prosperity.”

He ended with a call to global partners to support Africa’s push for self-reliance, noting that the next chapter of global growth could be written in African capitals if leaders have the courage to act.