By Alex Ababio
President John Dramani Mahama is backing calls by African leaders for a unified continental stance ahead of the 2025 G20 Summit. He emphasized the importance of Africa presenting a coordinated position to advocate for fair, prompt, and transparent debt restructuring mechanisms.
The G20, made up of 19 of the world’s leading economies along with the European Union, serves as a platform to deliberate on global financial and economic issues. This year’s summit will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from November 22 to 23.
Speaking at the opening of the African Union Conference on Debt in Lomé, Togo, President Mahama stressed the need for consistent debt transparency standards across AU member states. He also called for the integration of climate resilience and sustainable development targets into national debt strategies.
The three-day conference is organized by the African Union Commission’s Department for Economic Development, Tourism, Trade, Industry, and Minerals (ETTIM), under the theme: “Africa’s Public Debt Management Agenda: Restoring and Safeguarding Debt Sustainability.” It brings together representatives from AU member states, ministries of finance, African central banks, regional economic blocs, multilateral financial bodies, and civil society organizations.
President Mahama also underlined the urgency of fully operationalizing both the African Monetary Institute and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPS) as a way to reduce dependence on foreign exchange in regional trade. Addressing the need to change the narrative around African debt, he stated: “Let us leave here with a renewed vision, a vision where debt is no longer synonymous with crisis but with capacity, where our economies are built not on extraction and aid but on innovation, value addition, and equity, and where we act not as debtors pleading for relief but as partners demanding reform.” He reiterated Ghana’s readiness to support this continental vision: “Ghana stands ready shoulder to shoulder with our fellow African nations to champion this agenda,”
Mahama affirmed. He concluded with a call for collective determination and unity: “Let us walk this road together with courage, clarity, and commitment. Africa, united in vision and action, can overcome its debt challenges and deliver prosperity for generations of Africans yet to come.”