Promoting Unity and Reflection: Ghanaian Leaders Meet in Kwahu as Deontay Wilder Speaks on the Black Experience

John Mahama urges African nations to strengthen mineral negotiations

President John Mahama has called on African nations to significantly enhance their negotiating capacities and foster regional cooperation to secure greater economic returns from the continent's mineral wealth. Speaking at the Mining in Motion Conference in Accra, the President emphasized that African countries must move away from the traditional model of raw material exports toward local value-added processing. This shift, he noted, is essential to ensuring that natural resources drive industrialization and provide tangible benefits to local communities rather than solely benefiting foreign entities. The President expressed concern over historical "poor negotiations" that have resulted in lopsided concessions for foreign companies, which he argued contribute to financial outflows and persistent poverty across the continent. To counter this, he urged African Union (AU) member states to ratify the founding statutes of the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC). Mahama described the AMDC as a critical platform for providing governments with the technical support and geological data required to negotiate fairer deals and better manage their mineral sectors. Mahama further stressed the importance of aligning Ghana's mineral processing initiatives with those of its neighbors to build integrated regional value chains. He cited continental frameworks such as Agenda 2063, the African Mining Vision, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as the primary vehicles for this collaboration. By harmonizing mineral policies, African nations can leverage collective bargaining power and share technical expertise to build a more resilient industrial base. Looking ahead, the President revealed an ambitious target for Ghana to end the export of unprocessed minerals by 2030. He argued that shifting to the production of finished goods is the only way to transform the mining sector into a driver of job creation and long-term economic stability. The conference concluded with a broad call for African leaders to adopt coordinated negotiating positions and invest heavily in processing facilities to ensure the continent’s mineral wealth finally supports its own development goals.