President John Dramani Mahama has stated that Africa’s sovereignty is being undermined by what he described as a ‘Triple Dependency’ on external actors for security, social services and the mineral exploitation.

Addressing Zambia’s National Assembly on Thursday, February 5, 2026, President Mahama said decades after gaining political independence, many African countries remain constrained by structural dependencies that limit their ability to determine their own economic and development paths.

Mahama explained that the first dependency relates to security, where African states continue to rely heavily on external powers for defence and stability.

The second, he said, affects social systems, with key sectors such as health and education sustained largely through donor funding.

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The third dependency, according to him, concerns critical minerals, where Africa exports raw materials but imports finished products, gaining little value from its natural resources.

“This condition undermines genuine sovereignty,” Mahama stated.

He further stated that Africa faces a pandemic of unfulfilled potential.

“Africa faces a different pandemic, the pandemic of unfulfilled potential. Millions of our young people remain unemployed, health systems are fragile, and economies extract wealth without building capacity,” he indicated.

The President made the remarks on the second day of his three-day state visit to Zambia, using the platform to advocate for the Accra Reset Initiative, a framework he recently presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

He said the initiative is not a call for isolationism but a push for pragmatism and transparency in Africa’s engagement with the global economy.

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The strategy seeks to leverage Africa’s comparative advantages, particularly in minerals and agriculture, to drive industrial growth, while shifting from traditional aid models to investment-led partnerships.

It also aims to harness digitalisation and financial technology to better connect African markets.

President Mahama noted that while Africa’s founding leaders secured political independence, the current generation must deliver economic transformation.

He stressed that the need for a reset has become urgent as traditional multilateral systems come under pressure, global humanitarian assistance declines, and defence spending rises due to geopolitical tensions.

According to him, Africa can no longer afford a ‘development-as-usual’ approach and must move from being a passive participant in the global system to an active architect of its own economic future.

MRA/VPO

Social media uproar as Ghanaians, Zambians clash over Mahama's fashion choices: