President John Dramani Mahama has recently intensified his advocacy for the equitable and sovereign use of Africa’s natural resources, urging leaders across the continent to transition from raw material extraction to local value addition.
At the World Governments Summit 2026, Mahama emphasized that future global alliances must grant African nations greater control over their resources. He has consistently called for an end to “extraction without accountability” by foreign multinationals.
Speaking in Addis Ababa, he urged African nations to finance their development using domestic resources to reduce dependency on external aid. He highlighted his “Accra Reset” framework as a roadmap for this transition.
Mr. Mahama has declared a goal for Ghana that by 2030, no raw mineral ores should leave the country unprocessed. He advocates for the local processing of gold, bauxite, lithium, and agricultural products like cocoa to create jobs and industrialize.
He also advocated for the empowerment of indigenous companies to “capture the commanding heights” of African economies, citing Ghana’s Gold Board (GoldBod) which reportedly yielded over $10 billion in less than a year as a model for maximizing benefits from artisanal and small-scale mining.
Beyond minerals, Mr. Mahama also urged leaders to value Africa’s growing youth population as its true primary resource, focusing on education, dignity, and job creation.
