SONA 2026: Mahama calls for self-reliance, positioning Ghana as catalyst for African progress
President John Dramani Mahama has said that a national "reset" must focus on restoring economic stability, rebuilding public trust in democracy, strengthening institutions, and delivering tangible improvements to citizens' lives through fiscal discipline, transparency, and sustainable development.
He described this as a decisive break from past failures, "turning the page on years of mismanagement," and centring the agenda firmly on "fiscal discipline, transparency and sustainable development."
Delivering his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) to Parliament today [February 27], the President emphasised that this national reset forms part of a broader continental agenda.
He highlighted Ghana's role in fostering Africa-wide self-reliance, integration, and strategic leadership, positioning the nation not merely as a beneficiary of continental progress, but as a convener and catalyst for cooperation among African states. The goal, he stated, is to shift relationships "from dependence to self-reliance, from fragmentation to integration, and from reactive postures to strategic leadership."
The President stressed the interdependence of domestic and continental success, asserting that lasting prosperity at home depends on contributing to stability and growth across Africa, and vice versa.
The ultimate aim, he said, is to "restore hope, not merely as a promise, but as a lived reality of Ghanaians and Africans alike," signalling a firm intent to convert political vision into tangible outcomes for the people.
Mr Mahama set his address against a changing global context, warning that the existing international order is designed to protect its original architects and shifts when challenged. "The global order...endures only as long as it protects the advantages of those who designed it," he stated, noting that as emerging nations rebalance power, "the very architects of that order prove willing to relax their commitments."
He therefore argued strongly against "fragmentation, hesitation or continued dependence," urging instead the deliberate building of "resilience and prosperity" through "cooperation, self-belief and strategic alignment."
