Ghana on mission to prove that democracy works – President Mahama tells Zambian Parliament

President John Dramani Mahama has said Ghana is on a mission to prove that democracy works.

President Mahama who was given an opportunity to address the Zambian National Assembly during his three-day state visit to Lusaka, noted that democracy in the West African sub-region was backsliding with a return to military dictatorships.

He insisted that “Our people can achieve prosperity and opportunity under a constitutional democracy,” and stated that a critical factor in changing Africa's story was to ensure good governance, transparent and accountable leadership.

President Mahama noted that the institutions and laws to fight corruption must be allowed to operate without fear or favour.

“Abuses of public trust must be punished. We must protect public resources and use them efficiently for the good of our people,” he said.

Quoting former United States President Barak Obama during a visit to Ghana, he said: “Africa does not need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.”

President Mahama said: “We must build our democratic institutions to be independent and efficient,” adding that Parliament and the judiciary must work independently in the interest of the public, while leaders respected the oath they swore to respect the Constitution.

He mentioned the launch of the Global African Investment Summit earlier in Dubai, which was an initiative led by Akin Adesina, the former President of the African Development Bank, and a few collaborators, saying it sought to find new ways to leverage the continent's natural resource endowment, to raise more affordable financing to support Africa’s economic transformation.

The President said this was an exciting initiative and had the potential to unlock enormous financial resources for Africa's development.

He said as the African Union (AU) champion of African Financial Institutions, he was leading advocacy for the repatriation and investment of part of Africa's huge foreign reserves in African Financial Instituitions.

President Mahama said most of these foreign reserves were by colonial construct held in Western financial institutions and, in most cases, generated no interest.

He said if 30 per cent of these reserves were repatriated and invested in their own financial institutions, it would create an immense pool of wealth that could drive rapid infrastructural expansion and economic growth.

“No African country can survive in isolation. We must build regional prosperity platforms- shared manufacturing zones, integrated energy grids, and digital infrastructure,” he said.

He insisted that Africa must negotiate with one voice on minerals, trade, and climate finance, with unity as their strategy and not just a slogan.

President Mahama with his wife, First Lady Lordina Mahama, went on a three-day state visit to Zambia at the invitation of his Zambian counterpart, President Hakainde Hichilema.

GNA