Ghana proposes $200bn target to boost Africa’s financial independence

Ghana has proposed a $200 billion initiative to bolster Africa's financial independence over the next decade through collaborations with African-owned multilateral financial institutions. This proposal was unveiled at an extraordinary session of the African Union Executive Council in Accra, where Ghana urged member states to take decisive actions to diminish the continent's reliance on external funding.

Ghana emphasized that the forthcoming stage of Africa's liberation should prioritize attaining financial and economic autonomy, akin to the political independence achieved by earlier generations. The proposed financing scheme aims to offer investments, insurance, guarantees, and risk management for projects across the continent while aiming for broader involvement in multilateral financial institutions by 2030.

Ghana has pledged to deposit instruments of ratification for African Union financial institutions by 2027 and to host a summit on African financial institutions during its upcoming AU chairmanship to foster consensus and secure commitments for establishing the African Central Bank, Monetary Fund, and Investment Bank. The delegation highlighted that President John Dramani Mahama has instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to evaluate Ghana's potential upgrade to Tier One credit access.

Additionally, Ghana advocates for the adoption of an African Union financing declaration, which would compel member states to implement the African Union import levy or an alternative financing mechanism by a designated deadline. Other reforms include a unified program-based budget, a reporting framework to the AU Assembly and Executive Council, and a revised Peace Fund capitalization target backed by a $1 billion replenishment mechanism.

The delegation stressed that the effectiveness of these reforms hinges on political commitment, effective implementation, and tangible outcomes. Ghana urged member states to leverage the upcoming Kampala session as the foundation for a process leading to Ghana's chairmanship of the African Union in 2027, during which it intends to propel the African Continental Free Trade Area as a pivotal tool for fostering integrated economies across the continent.

The delegation also recalled Ghana's past contributions to Africa's political liberation, referencing the 1957 Accra Declaration and the 1958 All-African Peoples' Conference as pivotal moments in the quest for a unified Africa, urging African leaders to mirror this commitment to financial and economic liberation, with the overarching goal of constructing an African Union financed by Africans and serving the continent's interests.