We inherited a sick country – Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama says his administration inherited a “sick” Ghana, with a battered economy and weakened governance structures that left the country on the brink.

Addressing Zambia’s National Assembly in Lusaka on Thursday, Mahama said the scale of challenges confronting his government reflected deeper structural problems facing many African states.

“We inherited a country that was sick, the economy was in crisis, governance was in tatters, Ghana was almost becoming a basket case,” he told lawmakers.

The President linked Ghana’s past difficulties to what he described as a broader continental problem of dependency, warning that Africa’s sovereignty is being steadily eroded.

“Too many African countries remain trapped in triple dependency,” Mahama said, citing reliance on external actors for security decisions, donor funding for health and education, and raw mineral exports that generate little local value.

According to him, such dependencies limit policy independence and undermine sustainable development.

“Dependency on external actors for security choices, dependency on donors for health and education systems, and dependency on supplies of critical minerals while capturing little or no value,” he said, stressing that “this condition undermines genuine sovereignty.”

Mahama argued that decades of exporting raw resources without domestic value addition have weakened African economies and constrained industrial growth.

He urged leaders to rethink development models that prioritise extraction over capacity-building, saying the cost is borne most heavily by young people.

He described Africa as facing what he termed “a different pandemic.” “Africa therefore faces a different pandemic, the pandemic of unfulfilled potential,” Mahama said, pointing to widespread youth unemployment, fragile health systems and economies that “extract wealth without building capacity.”

The President called for honesty in governance and policymaking, insisting that denial would only worsen public discontent.

“Africa must confront this changing reality with transparency and pragmatism,” he said, warning that failure to act decisively could deepen social and economic pressures.

Mahama also referenced his recent engagement with global leaders to highlight the urgency of reform.

“Only days ago, I had the opportunity to address global leaders in Davos, where I spoke about the Accra Reset Initiative and the urgent need for Africa to redefine its development trajectory,” he noted.

He explained that the initiative focuses on restoring macroeconomic stability while driving industrialisation, skills development and regional value chains.

According to him, Africa’s demographic advantage can only translate into prosperity through jobs, productivity and strong domestic enterprises.

Mahama urged African parliaments and governments to support reforms that reduce dependency, strengthen institutions and prioritise value creation.

He said the future of Ghana and the continent depends on choices made now to turn crisis into opportunity.