Keypoints:
- Mahama attacks Global South raw-export dependence
- Accra Reset expands economic sovereignty agenda
- Ghana backs rhetoric with processing policies
PRESIDENT John Dramani Mahama has challenged developing countries to break from an economic system that leaves the Global South exporting raw materials while higher-value processing and manufacturing often take place elsewhere.
Addressing leaders at the 65th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade, Mahama argued that political independence would remain incomplete without economic sovereignty, industrial capacity and access to affordable development finance.
His intervention places resource sovereignty at the centre of the Accra Reset’s expanding Global South economic agenda, linking control over natural resources with industrialisation, stronger negotiating power and reduced dependence on external financing.
Mahama targets raw-export model
At the heart of Mahama’s argument is a development problem that has confronted African economies for decades.
Countries rich in gold, cobalt, manganese, bauxite, cocoa and other commodities frequently export them with limited processing, leaving higher-value stages of refining, manufacturing and technology elsewhere.
‘Resource sovereignty must be at the heart of our development agenda,’ Mahama said.
‘We cannot accept a global economic order in which countries of the Global South remain exporters of raw materials and importers of finished products, while our people bear the environmental and social costs of extraction.’
The argument reflects a wider African push to retain more value from minerals and agricultural commodities, with governments increasingly examining how domestic mineral processing can capture more economic value. But beneficiation requires reliable energy, transport, skills and finance.
Accra Reset becomes broader doctrine
Mahama used Belgrade to place the Accra Reset at the centre of his proposed response.
Official Accra Reset documentation says the initiative began in 2025 as an African health-sovereignty push before maturing into a broader political and economic doctrine focused on practical sovereignty and bargaining power.
The framework identifies geopolitical vulnerability, donor dependence and limited influence over global trade and financial rules as interconnected constraints facing much of the Global South.
That evolution is significant because Mahama is not advocating withdrawal from international markets.
‘This is not a call for isolation, but for stronger, more equitable, and mutually beneficial partnerships with the international community,’ he said.
‘Our resources must finance our transformation, our industries must create dignified jobs, and our nations must participate in global value chains as equal partners.’
Ghana puts policy behind rhetoric
Mahama can point to measures already being pursued at home.
Ghana has set a 2030 objective for major minerals, including manganese, bauxite and iron ore, to be processed domestically rather than exported in raw form. The policy is intended to retain more value, generate skilled employment and build industries around the country’s natural resources.
The approach forms part of a wider shift towards restricting exports of unrefined gold doré and increasing the amount of mineral value retained within Ghana.
From September 1, 2026, the Ghana Gold Board requires Self-Financing Aggregators to refine gold doré locally before export under arrangements with approved offtakers. GoldBod says export applications in that category will be processed only after local refining and other regulatory requirements have been satisfied.
The policy reinforces Ghana’s broader attempt to move from simply exporting gold towards capturing more of the refining and value-addition chain, an ambition also reflected in the country’s evolving GoldBod refinery strategy.
A similar argument is emerging in agriculture. Mahama has linked Ghana’s 24-hour economy to agro-processing, arguing that cocoa, cashew, shea, rubber and other commodities should increasingly support domestic manufacturing and export industries.
That approach makes agro-industrialisation a central pillar of the 24-hour economy, connecting increased production with processing, logistics and export opportunities.
Development finance joins sovereignty debate
But the Belgrade argument went beyond commodities.
Mahama criticised high borrowing costs, unsustainable debt burdens and uncertain access to predictable development capital, saying these conditions constrain fiscal planning across developing economies.
He wants the Non-Aligned Movement to deepen South-South financial and technological cooperation so member states have greater options when seeking capital, technology and entry into global supply chains.
That links resource sovereignty to a wider question: whether developing countries can exercise meaningful economic independence while remaining heavily exposed to external lenders, imported technology and commodity-price cycles.
Non-alignment gets economic meaning
The Belgrade setting gives the argument historical resonance.
The first conference of non-aligned heads of state and government was held in the Serbian capital from September 1 to 6, 1961. The movement sought to protect political sovereignty and strategic independence as newly independent states faced pressure from competing Cold War blocs.
Sixty-five years later, Serbia used the commemorative meeting to reaffirm sovereignty, equality, dialogue and independent decision-making.
Mahama is effectively extending those principles into economics.
For the original non-aligned generation, the question was how states could preserve political room to manoeuvre between great powers. Mahama’s proposition asks how meaningful that independence can be when countries remain dependent on exporting unprocessed commodities and borrowing expensive capital.
Delivery will determine credibility
The harder test will be implementation.
Domestic mineral processing demands energy, infrastructure, technology, specialised skills and significant capital. Global South countries can also compete against one another for investors, complicating efforts to create common bargaining positions.
But Mahama’s Belgrade intervention gives the Accra Reset a clearer geoeconomic dimension.
In this formulation, economic non-alignment does not mean retreating from global markets. It means entering them with greater bargaining power, retaining more domestic value and ensuring that countries producing resources critical to the world economy are no longer permanently confined to the bottom of global value chains.
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