In his interview with Wode Maya monitored by MyNewsGh, President John Dramani Mahama offered an incisive critique of the global economic order, highlighting how trade systems born in colonial times continue to constrain African development.
He warned that the current world order is “rigged against Africa,” pointing to trade structures that force the continent to export raw materials and import finished goods.
“These are all the kinds of things that we need to look at,” he said, describing how European importers determine cocoa and gold pricing, even though those resources are grown in Africa.
Mahama argued that despite political independence, many African nations remain “new colonial slaves” under systems that deny sovereignty over pricing, standards, and trade routes.
He invoked the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a promising framework, but cautioned;“If we do not harmonize our standards … we cannot fully utilize the potential that AfCFTA gives us.”
He emphasized the need for infrastructure, railways, ports, roads, to enable intra-African commerce.
“Where are the railways to move those goods? Where are the ports to move those goods?” he asked.
“Until the logistics and standards systems are fixed, he said, Africa cannot seize its rightful place in global markets.
