President John Dramani Mahama recently used iconic global convenings such as the United Nations General Assembly, the World Economic Forum in Davos, and the African Union Summit to make a case for what he calls a new sovereign future for Africa and the wider Global South.
According to him, the continent and its partners must shift away from dependency and extraction in a rapidly changing world.
Speaking at a Davos convening of the Accra Reset on January 22, 2026, held on the margins of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, President Mahama said the postwar multilateral system is under strain and that Africa must help shape whatever comes next.
“Our world as we know it is at an inflection point,” he said. “Africa must pull itself up by its own bootstraps.”
He described youth unemployment as a “pandemic of unfulfilled potential,” stressing that demographic growth without economic inclusion could destabilize progress.
“Millions of young people have no jobs. If we could mobilize the world to fight a disease, why can’t we mobilize to fight poverty and dependency?” he asked.
The President has positioned the Accra Reset initiative as a blueprint for coordinated action across the Global South, urging African nations and leaders across key sectors to negotiate collectively on minerals, trade, investment and climate finance.
“When we negotiate together, we can be formidable. Unity must be our strategy,” he said. “We did not come here to ask for charity. We came to propose a partnership based on shared vision and mutual respect.”
Former Nigerian President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a member of the Guardians Circle of the Accra Reset, reinforced the urgency of institutional reform.
“We have come to name reality clearly, define a practical direction and call serious people to serious work on a new resource architecture, including investment for sustainable development and growth,” he said.
Obasanjo warned that the global order is being reshaped by disruption and uncertainty.
“The old development architecture is struggling and unreliable. Aid systems are under fiscal stress and are dwindling. Countries that are not organized for negotiation and execution do not merely fall behind; they become bargaining chips,” he said.
He endorsed Mahama’s framing of a “triple dependency” trap and argued that sovereignty must be understood as execution capacity.
“Sovereignty is discipline. It is the ability to make choices and carry them through. If you cannot execute, you cannot be sovereign. If you cannot negotiate, you will be packaged and positioned by others,” he stated.
The Commonwealth’s Secretary General, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, also aligned the bloc with the Accra Reset agenda.
“For decades, we have come together across a shared table bound by history, trade and a common vulnerability to a world that no longer works for industrialized or developing countries alike,” she said.
“We are determined to course correct from business as usual to a transformative plan to build democratic, economic and climate resilience, with a focus on youth and women.”
She acknowledged that traditional development cooperation has fallen short.
“Too many declarations, too few delivery machines. Too many well-intentioned frameworks that never become bankable programs or investable corridors,” she noted.
“The Accra Reset asks simple but demanding questions. Can we design a new compact that respects sovereignty, mobilizes private capital at scale and converts political will into measurable results?”
Madam Botchwey said the Commonwealth stands ready to move beyond symbolic endorsement.
“We are prepared for peer learning, project incubation, trade and investment cooperation and institutional strengthening. This is the bridge the Accra Reset is building,” she said.
On her part, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, Amma Gyampo, said the President’s vision sets a high bar that must be matched by diverse levels of capital deployment, as well as legal and fiscal policy reforms.
As the voice of the industry most actively investing in private sector development and local enterprises, the strategic focus of GVCA is to unlock the domestic capital mobilization required to finance productive, growth-stage businesses with the capacity to create jobs.
“Youth unemployment is a symptom of a failed system; a financial, political and economic system that has failed to create productive capacity and inclusive growth for our people.
“Africa and many regions in the Global South are at a critical point in the global development and finance conversation where we are faced with a dizzying statistic of having over 1.2 billion young people entering the job market in the next decade with only 400 million jobs available,” Mrs Gyampo said.
She noted that private equity and venture capital funds across the continent are already demonstrating that investment with technical advisory support can align returns with impact and sustainable development outcomes.
“We have seen firms and funds deliver strong results by focusing capital on addressing deep pain points and fundamental needs that affect the majority of our populations,” she said.
Mrs Gyampo emphasized that policies like the 24 Hour Economy must keep demand-driven market creation and skills development top of mind if they are to succeed in creating decent jobs at scale; pointing to financial services, tourism, healthcare, export, manufacturing, education and agribusiness as sectors where private capital can accelerate employment-driven economic and environmental transformation.
The Accra Reset, introduced at the United Nations General Assembly last September and endorsed at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, is designed as a Global South platform to strengthen sovereign capacity and reimagine international cooperation.
President Mahama leads the Presidential Council, which includes President Abdel Fattah el Sisi of Egypt, President William Ruto of Kenya and President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Nigeria was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima and Papua New Guinea by Prime Minister James Marape. Former leaders, including Olusegun Obasanjo, Helen Clark, Ameenah Gurib Fakim and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, form the Guardians Circle.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Source: www.myjoyonline.com
