President Mahama urges African leaders to embrace Accra Reset to secure lasting peace
President John Dramani Mahama has urged African leaders to embrace the Accra Reset as a framework for addressing the economic challenges driving conflict and insecurity on the continent.
Presenting the 2026 State of Peace and Security in Africa Report at the 12th Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, on Saturday, President Mahama said lasting peace required African countries to take greater control of their economies, develop domestic industries and reduce dependence on external support.
“The Accra Reset demands that we fundamentally restructure our economies,” he said, calling for a shift from exporting raw materials to processing them locally, building industrial capacity, securing food and energy sovereignty, and making the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) an effective driver of shared prosperity.
President Mahama, who chaired the Forum, linked Africa’s security challenges to the economic conditions that leave communities marginalised while the continent’s natural resources generate wealth for others.
He cited conflicts in resource-rich areas, including eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado region, where mineral and gas wealth has not prevented instability and economic exclusion.
He argued that Africa’s security response must therefore go beyond military operations to address who controls strategic resources, who benefits from their extraction and whether local communities share in the resulting wealth.
The President said the Accra Reset offered a framework for changing these conditions by promoting domestic value addition, stronger African production systems and economic cooperation that creates jobs and expands opportunities for the continent’s growing population.
He also called for the full implementation of the AfCFTA, arguing that stronger trade links and cross-border value chains could help reduce the economic incentives that sustain conflict.
He commended Ethiopia for joining the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, which facilitates cross-border payments in African currencies.
On peace financing, President Mahama urged African governments to take greater responsibility for funding their own security operations rather than relying heavily on external partners. He cited the funding gap facing African-led operations in Somalia as an example of the risks associated with dependence on foreign financial support.
He further warned that digital disinformation, weak institutions and the exclusion of women and young people from economic opportunities were adding to the continent’s security challenges.
The President called on African governments to implement existing commitments, strengthen public accountability and invest in communities vulnerable to extremist recruitment. He also urged the private sector to invest in local industries and supply chains, while asking international partners to support Africa’s self-reliance rather than reinforce structural dependence.
The Accra Reset is a Head-of-State-anchored initiative aimed at reshaping development cooperation around practical sovereignty, implementation capacity and shared prosperity in the Global South and beyond. It seeks to reduce structural economic dependence by strengthening African production, health, food and energy systems.
The 12th Tana Forum was held under the theme “Pathways to Peace in Africa: Economic Sovereignty and Geopolitical Transformation,” bringing together African leaders and other stakeholders to discuss the relationship between economic independence, regional cooperation and lasting peace.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
