Accra, Feb. 16, – President John Dramani Mahama has unveiled sweeping reforms aimed at strengthening Ghana’s economic independence, including plans to finance cocoa purchases domestically and halt the export of unprocessed mineral ores by 2030.
The announcement was made at a high-level side event dubbed “Accra Reset’s Addis Reckoning,” held during the 39th African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, according to a statement from the Presidency.
At the heart of the reforms is a decision to discontinue foreign borrowing arrangements traditionally used to fund cocoa purchases.
“We will no longer rely on foreign funding to buy our cocoa,” the President declared. “We are going to raise domestic bonds. There are enough Cedis within our economy to pay for our cocoa.”
President Mahama described existing financing structures as restrictive, explaining that cocoa beans are used as collateral under foreign loan agreements. Under this system, the beans are pledged to financiers, shipped abroad and sold at international market prices to repay the loans.
He noted that such arrangements limit Ghana’s ability to process cocoa locally, despite having installed capacity to process about 400,000 tonnes annually. “When the beans are collateralised, we must ship them out. That denies local processors access,” he said.
Recent volatility in global cocoa prices and exchange rates, he added, had exposed weaknesses in the model. A producer price fixed when cocoa traded at 7,200 dollars per tonne and the Cedi stood at 11.5 to the dollar later resulted in financial strain when prices fell to 4,200 dollars and the Cedi appreciated to 10.7.
Under the proposed reforms, Ghana will issue domestic bonds in Cedis to purchase cocoa directly from farmers. The move is expected to free up substantial volumes of beans for local processing, potentially generating employment and retaining greater value within the national economy.
Beyond cocoa, President Mahama announced a firm 2030 deadline to end the export of raw mineral ores.
“No raw manganese, bauxite or iron ore will leave Ghana unprocessed by 2030,” he stated, stressing that value addition and local industrialisation must become the standard.
He framed the policy shift as part of the broader Accra Reset agenda, an initiative advocating stronger African control over natural resources and expanded domestic production capacity.
The President linked the reforms to the aspirations of Africa’s growing youth population, arguing that job creation and shared prosperity depend on structural transformation.
“Our young people want to see results now,” he said, adding that sustainable economic opportunities at home would reduce dangerous migration journeys across the Sahara and the Mediterranean.
Calling for decisive implementation, he urged African leaders to act with urgency. If consensus across the continent proves slow, he proposed forming a “coalition of the willing” to move ahead and allow others to join later.
The Accra Reset vision seeks to reshape Africa’s engagement with global partners by prioritising industrialisation, value addition and resource sovereignty as pathways to prosperity for the continent’s 1.4 billion citizens.
President Mahama concluded by emphasising action over rhetoric, describing the Addis gathering as a turning point. “From Addis, we must stop talking and start implementing,” he said.
GHBUSS
February 16, 2026
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