President John Dramani Mahama has called for greater opportunities for young people as countries navigate what he described as major disruptions to the global order.
Speaking at a presidential roundtable organised by the Open Society Foundation in New York on Monday, September 21, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, President Mahama said the changing global development landscape presents both challenges and opportunities.
He said countries, particularly those in the Global South, must respond to the changing environment by creating jobs, improving public services and investing in infrastructure.
“In all the disruption and chaos are born new ideas and partnerships,” President Mahama said.
“This is when we must create jobs for our people, improve public services, build infrastructure, and expand opportunity, especially for our young people. For countries such as Ghana, the question is how we strengthen our ability to pursue those priorities with greater confidence and continuity, whatever the changes taking place around us.”
Mahama said Africa already has a long-term development framework through Agenda 2063, which focuses on productive economies, stronger institutions, regional integration and expanded opportunities.
He stressed the need for African countries to strengthen their institutions, financing capacity and systems for delivering development programmes.
Touching on the Accra Reset initiative, the President said it seeks to help countries respond with greater urgency and self-reliance to changes in the global environment.
“The Accra Reset asks what countries need to act with urgency in a changing world, and what a more balanced relationship with international partners could look like,” he said.
He said national sovereignty in this context should be understood as the capacity of countries to set priorities, negotiate effectively, mobilise resources and implement decisions.
“When I speak about sovereignty in this context, I am speaking about the capacity to act. A country needs to be able to set its priorities, negotiate effectively, mobilise resources, and follow through on its decisions,” President Mahama stated.
He acknowledged that Ghana still has work to do to strengthen its ownership of the development process, citing the need for better coordination, stronger project preparation, increased domestic resource mobilisation and sound financial management.
“We need stronger coordination across government, better preparation of programs and projects, greater domestic resource mobilisation, sound financial management, and institutions that can demonstrate clear results,” he said.
Mahama also called for greater collaboration with civil society, businesses, academia and local communities in addressing the country’s development challenges.
He urged international development partners and philanthropic organisations to focus more on building long-term national capacity rather than relying primarily on short-term programmes.
“Can international cooperation do more to build national capability and work through local systems when they meet required standards? Can we reduce unnecessary duplication while protecting accountability?” he asked.
The President also highlighted the role of philanthropic foundations in supporting health, education, governance and research across Africa.
“Foundations have room to operate differently because they can support institutional capability, early programme development, public goods and social priorities,” he said.
He added that successful initiatives should ultimately be integrated into public systems and local institutions to ensure their sustainability.
