Ghana considers moving to Tier 1 in AU assessed contributions –Foreign Affairs Minister
Ghana is considering moving to Tier 1 in its assessed contributions to the African Union (AU), following a directive by President John Dramani Mahama for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to examine the country’s readiness for the proposed change.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, disclosed this on Friday, at the opening of the AU Executive Council’s Extraordinary Session on Financing the Union in Accra.
He said the President had tasked the Ministry to undertake an analysis to advise him on the possibility of Ghana moving to Tier 1 in its assessed contributions to the continental body.
“I am also delighted to disclose that His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to begin an analysis to advise the President on the possibility of Ghana moving to Tier 1 when it comes to our assessed contributions,” he stated.
Mr Ablakwa said the proposed assessment reflected the President’s intention to demonstrate Ghana’s commitment to the African Union through increased financial responsibility, particularly as the country prepares to assume the AU chairmanship in January 2027.
He said President Mahama was committed to leading by example and ensuring that Ghana’s engagement with the continental body went beyond declarations to concrete financial commitments.
The Minister said Ghana’s commitment to strengthening the AU’s financial independence also included plans to deposit its instruments of ratification for the African Union financial institutions by 2027.
He announced that during Ghana’s chairmanship of the AU, the country would convene an Extraordinary Summit on African Financial Institutions in Accra to mobilise political support and financial commitments towards establishing the African Central Bank, African Monetary Fund and African Investment Bank.
Mr Ablakwa called for the adoption of an Accra Declaration on Financing the Union to establish clear commitments towards improving the AU’s financial sustainability.
The proposed declaration includes commitments by Member States to implement the 0.2 per cent levy on eligible imports or an equivalent financing mechanism, introduce a unified programme-based budget and strengthen the African Union Peace Fund.
He said the AU must move beyond dependence on external financing and mobilise its own resources to support the continent’s development priorities.
He noted that the proposed partnership between the AU and the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions sought to mobilise an additional US$200 billion in financing, investment, insurance, guarantees and risk mitigation support for Agenda 2063 over the next decade.
The partnership also targets doubling the aggregate capital base, risk-bearing capacity and financing capacity of participating African multilateral financial institutions within three to five years, while achieving continent-wide participation by 2030.
He said Ghana believed that a financially autonomous African Union was essential to achieving an integrated, prosperous and peaceful continent capable of asserting its rightful place in the international community.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, said the continent needed a paradigm shift in the way it approached its collective ambitions, hence African countries must translate their shared aspirations into practical actions that would strengthen the Union’s capacity to finance its priorities.
“It is incumbent on us to translate that ambition into a genuine paradigm shift. Our sovereignty is not only voiced loud and clear, but it must be built, organised and financed by our member countries,” he stated.
According to the African Union’s published Scale of Assessment, Ghana is currently classified under Tier 2, with an assessed contribution rate of 2.811%. The AU operates a three-tier assessment system based on countries’ share of continental GDP/GNI.
Tier 1 comprises the largest economies with a share above 4 %, Tier 2 covers middle economies with a share above 1% but below %, while Tier 3 includes countries with a share of 1 % or less.
The Extraordinary Session brings together African Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Finance to deliberate on reforms and financing arrangements aimed at strengthening the African Union’s financial sustainability.
Judith Twumwaa, ISD
