News Ghana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, Roger A. Agana, https://newsghana.com.gh/mahama-urges-africa-to-shift-from-raw-exports-to-local-production-demands-resource-sovereignty/
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama issued a rallying cry for African nations to break free from their historical role as exporters of raw materials, advocating instead for a continent-wide industrial revolution driven by local ownership and value-added production.
Speaking at the African Dialogue series in Accra on Thursday, Mahama stressed that Africa’s path to prosperity hinges on processing its abundant natural resources into finished goods—a move he argued would reshape global trade dynamics and tackle youth unemployment.
“Africa must move beyond digging and drilling for others. Whether it is Ghana’s cocoa, Nigeria’s oil, Zambia’s copper, or Botswana’s diamonds, we cannot remain trapped in a cycle of exporting raw materials only to import finished products at inflated prices,” Mahama declared. “Adding value to our resources is non-negotiable. It’s how we retain wealth, create sustainable jobs, and empower our youth.”
The President’s remarks spotlight a long-standing economic paradox: despite supplying critical minerals, agricultural products, and fossil fuels to global markets, Africa accounts for less than 3% of worldwide trade in manufactured goods, according to UNCTAD data. Mahama blamed this imbalance on decades of extractive practices, weak industrial policies, and foreign-dominated supply chains. “Indigenizing ownership of our resources is not optional—it’s survival,” he insisted. “We have the capital and technology today to reclaim our stake, but it requires political will.”
To catalyze this shift, Mahama called for tighter collaboration between governments and the private sector, proposing special economic zones to boost manufacturing and innovation. He singled out small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as “the backbone of Africa’s economies,” urging easier access to financing and technology transfers. “Imagine a Ghanaian chocolate factory supplying global supermarkets, or Nigerian petrochemical plants fueling regional industries. This is the Africa we must build,” he said.
The speech aligns with broader efforts under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to expand intra-African trade, which currently hovers at just 17%, compared to 59% in Asia and 69% in Europe. Analysts argue that value addition could help reverse this trend. “Processing cocoa into chocolate in Ghana instead of Switzerland adds layers of economic benefit—jobs, skills, tax revenue,” said Kwame Acheampong, an Accra-based trade economist. “But it demands infrastructure, stable policies, and tackling corruption that scares investors.”
Critics, however, caution that Mahama’s vision faces entrenched hurdles. Foreign corporations and some national elites, they note, profit from the status quo. “Resource nationalism sounds empowering, but who truly benefits? Local oligarchs often replicate the same exploitative models as foreign entities,” argued Fatoumata Diallo, a Senegalese political economist. “Inclusive growth requires transparency and fair partnerships, not just rhetoric.”
Mahama’s push also comes amid a global scramble for Africa’s critical minerals, essential for renewable energy technologies. While nations like Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo seek greater control over their copper and cobalt reserves, deals with foreign investors remain lopsided. The President’s emphasis on “homegrown industrialization” signals an awareness of this imbalance, though tangible policies remain under scrutiny.
As the African Dialogue series concluded, stakeholders echoed mixed optimism. “The blueprint exists,” said Acheampong. “Botswana’s diamond-cutting industry and South Africa’s automotive sector show it’s possible. But replication needs unity—and leaders willing to prioritize factories over short-term export revenues.”
For Mahama, the equation is clear: Africa’s resources must fuel its own rise. “Our minerals, crops, and energy belong to us first,” he said. “Processing them here isn’t just economics—it’s dignity.”
News Ghana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, Roger A. Agana, https://newsghana.com.gh/mahama-urges-africa-to-shift-from-raw-exports-to-local-production-demands-resource-sovereignty/
