Country ownership should not require our partners to lower their standards -Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has called for a new approach to international development partnerships, urging greater country ownership while stressing that stronger leadership must be accompanied by institutional capacity, accountability and effective delivery.

Speaking at the OSF Funders Roundtable on Philanthropy, Global South Leadership and the Accra Reset in New York on September 21, 2026, President Mahama said Ghana was seeking greater agency over its development while accepting the responsibilities that came with greater country leadership.

He said developments in the international landscape over the past year had highlighted the vulnerability of countries whose programmes and institutions depended on external financing, as funding priorities could shift and political decisions taken thousands of miles away could have immediate consequences for programmes and communities.

“We cannot ignore that vulnerability, but neither should our response be simply to search for new sources of funding to replace those that may be reducing or withdrawing,” he said.

President Mahama said the changing environment provided an opportunity to reconsider the development system itself and strengthen the capabilities countries needed to exercise greater control over their economic and social progress.

He said Africa already had a development direction through Agenda 2063, which envisaged productive economies, stronger institutions, greater integration, more opportunities for young people and greater influence over decisions affecting the continent.

However, he said the challenge was turning those ambitions into delivery. “That requires institutions that can execute, the ability to mobilise and manage resources well, stronger negotiating capability, programmes that can attract the right forms of finance, and systems that allow us to account properly for results and learn from them,” he said.

Accra Reset

The President said the Accra Reset was rooted in the recognition that sovereignty could not only be asserted but had to be supported by the capacity to exercise it.

He said countries that struggled to finance their priorities, negotiate effectively, build capable institutions or deliver consistently would inevitably face limits on the choices they could make. “So, when I speak about greater country leadership, I also speak about the responsibilities that come with it,” he said.

For Ghana, he said, greater country leadership required clearer national priorities and better coordination across government, as well as stronger institutions responsible for delivery.

He said the country also needed to build confidence in its governance, financial management and accountability systems and work properly with civil society, communities, businesses and other national institutions. “We cannot ask our partners to give us greater room to lead while avoiding the difficult work that leadership requires,” he said.

President Mahama said the responsibility for country leadership also required international partners to consider whether the way international cooperation was organised enabled national institutions to develop the capability and space to lead.

MiDA to coordinate partnerships

President Mahama disclosed that he had designated the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) as Government’s focal institution for international philanthropic partnerships and grant coordination. He said MiDA had experience working to demanding international standards in procurement, financial management, delivery and accountability.

“We are building on that experience to provide philanthropic partners with a clear route for engagement with Government, while ensuring that the relevant Ministries, the Accra Reset team, civil society and other delivery partners remain part of the process,” he said.

He stressed that greater country ownership should not require development partners to lower their standards. “Country ownership should not require our partners to lower their standards,” he said.

He said Ghana’s responsibility was to build institutions capable of meeting those standards and provide partners with confidence that resources could be traced, results demonstrated and lessons from implementation used to inform future action.

President Mahama invited philanthropic organisations to explore areas where their mandates could align with Ghana’s priorities, noting that the contribution required could range from funding to expertise, evidence, networks and institutional capability.

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