President John Dramani Mahama has declared that Africa must pull itself up by its own bootstraps as global humanitarian assistance shrinks and developed countries cut Official Development Assistance.
In his address at the Davos Convening of the Accra Reset Initiative on Thursday, he warned that the era of relying on handouts and humanitarian assistance from the developed world is ending, forcing Africa to chart a new course toward self-reliance.
“Africa must pull itself up by its own bootstraps. Global humanitarian assistance is shrinking. Many developed countries, including Europe, are compelled to cut ODA and increase defence spending by the new reality of an unpredictable ally across the Atlantic,” President Mahama stated.
He noted that Africa has lagged behind in the past decades following liberation from colonialism, trapped in cycles of conflict and multidimensional poverty while thriving on handouts and humanitarian assistance from the developed world.
The President disclosed that the United States is cutting funding for the United Nations system and other global organizations that have saved millions of lives, creating an unpredictable environment that requires Africa to take responsibility for its own destiny.
“The US is cutting funding for the United Nations system and other global organizations that have saved millions of lives. We face an unpredictable world. This is why Africa must be responsible for its destiny,” he stated.
President Mahama emphasized that as the world reaches an inflection point with the post-World War II multilateral governance system breaking down, Africa intends to be at the table in determining what the new global order will look like rather than remaining passive recipients of aid.
“Our world as we know it is at an inflection point. The global multilateral governance system, universally agreed and accepted after the 2nd World War, is breaking down. While no specific name has not been coined yet for the new global system that will emerge, Africa intends to be at the table in determining what that new global order will look like,” he declared.
The President described the current moment as one where countries must compete, innovate, and build or be left behind, with young Africans running out of patience as they watch opportunities pass them by.
He contrasted the current situation with two decades ago when UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and several world leaders, including President Olusegun Obasanjo, made a case that HIV/AIDS was killing millions in Africa and a global response was needed, leading to the creation of the Global Fund which saved millions of lives.
“That fight succeeded because leaders decided to act together, with urgency and without excuses. Today, I am not so sure,” President Mahama stated, emphasising the changing global landscape.
He argued that today Africa faces a different pandemic: the pandemic of unfulfilled potential, characterized by millions of young people without jobs, health systems that collapse at the first crisis, and economies that extract resources but build nothing lasting.
“If we could mobilize the world to fight a disease, why can’t we mobilize to fight poverty? To fight dependency? To fight the systems that keep brilliant young Africans locked out of the future,” he asked.
President Mahama pointed to Ghana’s experience as proof that self-reliance is achievable, noting that his government has cut spending, reduced the size of government to a record low of 58 ministers and deputy ministers, digitized services to end corruption, and renegotiated debt to invest in people rather than just service loans.
“In Ghana, we’re proving something important, execution beats excuses,” he stated, adding that the Resetting Ghana agenda is working because the government stopped talking about transformation and started building it.
The President called on African leaders to hold themselves accountable to their people, noting that the continent cannot ask the world to invest in it if it tolerates corruption, waste, and systems that don’t work.
“We cannot ask the world to invest in us if we tolerate corruption, waste, and systems that don’t work. Reset means reform. And reform means results,” he emphasized.
President Mahama stressed that the Accra Reset Initiative is not seeking charity but proposing a global partnership of the willing based on shared vision and mutual respect, where Global South countries don’t just receive programmes but co-design them with partners in the global north.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
