President John Dramani Mahama has declared that the Accra Reset initiative will seek to change the rigged global financial architecture, arguing that Africa and other developing economies face disproportionately high borrowing costs that constrain their ability to finance critical infrastructure and long-term development projects.
Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony for the Takoradi Port expansion projects, President Mahama explained that the initiative, which began with efforts to strengthen health sovereignty, has evolved into a broader campaign to address inequalities in the changing global order.
“But one of our advocacies under the Accra Reset is to change the global financial architecture.”
President John Dramani Mahama
The President maintained that African countries must build more resilient economies and reduce their dependence on external support, particularly in critical sectors such as healthcare.
He argued that the broader Accra Reset agenda must also address the financial conditions that place developing countries at a disadvantage when seeking funds for national development.
Accra Reset Evolves Beyond Health Sovereignty
President Mahama explained that the Accra Reset initially emerged from discussions about health sovereignty and the need to reduce African countries’ dependence on donor financing for essential healthcare interventions.
He recalled that the initiative was partly triggered by the abrupt cancellation of a United States funding facility worth US$174 million, which affected financing for some critical health interventions.
“We’ve been able to, you know, provide and fill that vacuum of funding, but then it set us thinking and we said, look, why must we continue to depend on others for our health outcomes?”
President John Dramani Mahama
President Mahama disclosed that the government subsequently convened the Accra research conference, which brought together international organisations, health ministers and other stakeholders to examine the issue.
He noted that the initiative had since attracted wider international interest, with stakeholders increasingly embracing its objectives. Its scope, he emphasised, now extends beyond healthcare to address broader challenges associated with the changing global order.
Mahama Highlights High Borrowing Costs Facing Africa
The President identified the high cost of borrowing as one of the structural challenges the Accra Reset seeks to address, arguing that African countries and the wider Global South often pay significantly higher interest rates than developed economies.
He explained that perceived political and security risks contribute to the additional premiums imposed on African borrowers, increasing the cost of financing major infrastructure and development projects.
President Mahama illustrated the challenge by pointing to risk premiums of between four and five per cent that may be added to borrowing costs before the prevailing interest rate is applied. He explained that when another five per cent interest rate is added, the total borrowing cost could reach approximately 10 or 11 per cent.
This, he argued, places African economies at a disadvantage because they must commit a larger share of their resources to servicing loans, even when financing projects that are essential for long-term economic development.
The President acknowledged that African governments also have a responsibility to strengthen fiscal discipline and improve their creditworthiness to secure more favourable borrowing conditions.
He noted that achieving investment-grade status could help countries reduce the interest rates at which they access financing. However, President Mahama maintained that domestic reforms must be accompanied by changes to the international financial system to address the structural factors contributing to high borrowing costs.
Accra Reset Advocates Long-Term Patient Capital
President Mahama also emphasised the importance of patient capital, describing it as long-term financing that allows investors and project developers sufficient time to achieve returns on investments.
He made the point while acknowledging discussions about patient funds during the ceremony, noting that infrastructure projects often require extended periods before generating the expected financial returns.
“Patient funds, that is, long-term funds, you know, that give you a longer time and are patience for you to reach a rate of return, because some of these projects are long gestation projects”.
President John Dramani Mahama
His remarks highlighted the need for financing arrangements that recognise the long-term nature of major infrastructure investments, including port, railway and other development projects.
President Mahama also acknowledged the financial institutions and investment groups involved in supporting the Takoradi Port expansion, including Petra, Ghana’s pension fund, and congratulated them for their contribution to the project.
Financial Reform Central to Africa’s Development Ambitions
The President’s remarks place the Accra Reset within a wider effort to improve the conditions under which African countries mobilise resources for development.
By linking health sovereignty to the cost of borrowing and access to patient capital, President Mahama presented the initiative as an agenda that seeks to strengthen domestic capacity while challenging international financial arrangements that constrain developing economies.
His position is that African countries must pursue stronger fiscal discipline and creditworthiness while advocating reforms that make development financing more affordable and accessible. The proposed change to the global financial architecture, alongside greater access to long-term financing, forms a central part of that advocacy.
President Mahama’s intervention at the Takoradi Port expansion ceremony therefore connected Ghana’s infrastructure ambitions to a broader continental debate about financial sovereignty, the cost of capital and the ability of developing countries to fund projects that support economic transformation.
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