President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged Africa countries to transition from donor-recipient relationships to genuine partnerships that emphasise mutual interests and shared responsibilities.
He stressed the importance of Africa taking the lead in defining its development priorities, arguing that true partnerships are essential for sustainable progress.
President Akufo-Addo, speaking at the 5th anniversary celebration of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Ghana, held in Accra last Friday, highlighted that the current development framework often sidelined local communities and civil society organisations, leading to gaps in achieving the intended development outcomes.
He said “development cooperation should be based on genuine partnerships that recognise the mutual interests and shared responsibilities of all stakeholders.”
This year’s event was on the theme: ‘The Limits of the Current Development Co-operation Framework for Africa’s Transformation.’
It was attended by members of the diplomatic corp, both current and past diplomats, international relation experts, current and former ministers of state and Members of Parliament.
President Akufo-Addo said there was the need for mutual accountability which was fundamental for effective development cooperation.
He called for a transparent monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to track progress and ensure that development interventions were delivering tangible outcomes, emphasising that “by promoting mutual accountability, we can heighten the effectiveness and impact of development cooperation.”
The President Akufo-Addo while acknowledging that Africa had made significant progress in sectors such as agriculture, education, health, and infrastructure with assistance from international partners, he said there still remain significant challenges such as poverty, inequality, and underdeveloped infrastructure that continued to plague the continent.
To this end, he cited the dependency on external aid as a major limitation of the current development cooperation framework, arguing that it undermines domestic ownership and self-reliance.
“Overreliance on aid weakens the capacity of African governments to generate and mobilise domestic resources, ultimately hindering sustainable development,” President said.
President Akufo-Addo called for a shift towards economic self-sufficiency, emphasising the need to stimulate domestic resource mobilisation, nurture entrepreneurship, and create an enabling environment for indigenous private sector investment.
He emphasised the transformative potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement in driving Africa’s economic integration and industrialisation.
Furthermore, President Akufo-Addo noted that the digital revolution presented opportunities for accelerating development, improving service delivery, and enhancing economic competitiveness in Africa.
He noted that these opportunities also came with challenges that must be addressed to ensure that the benefits of technology are equitably distributed.
“To harness the promise of technology, we have to invest in digital infrastructure through the expansion of broadband connectivity, improving access to information and communication technologies (ICT), and developing digital skills,” the President said.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL