President John Dramani Mahama has called for stronger domestic capacity, effective institutions and sustainable financing as countries in the Global South confront growing debt pressures and disruptions in the international development landscape.
Speaking at a Presidential Roundtable organised by the Open Society Foundation in New York on Monday, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, President Mahama said countries must strengthen their ability to respond to development challenges while creating sustainable opportunities for their citizens.
He said the focus should be on creating jobs, improving public services, developing infrastructure and expanding opportunities, particularly for young people.
“When I speak about sovereignty in this context, I am speaking about the capacity to act,” President Mahama said.
The President stressed that countries need stronger coordination across government, greater domestic resource mobilisation and sound financial management to build resilient economies and reduce their dependence on external support.
He also called for institutions capable of delivering measurable results and ensuring that successful development initiatives can be sustained beyond individual programmes or projects.
“Where an approach proves successful, the next step should be its adoption into public systems, local delivery institutions, and long-term financing models,” he said.
President Mahama said strengthening domestic systems was essential to ensuring that development interventions translated into lasting improvements in the lives of citizens.
His comments come as countries across the Global South face increasing pressure from debt burdens, constrained fiscal space and changes in the international development financing environment.
He argued that building stronger domestic institutions and mobilising local resources would enable countries to take greater ownership of their development priorities and create more sustainable solutions to their challenges.
The Presidential Roundtable brought together presidents and chief executives of major global foundations to discuss sustainable development, financing and institutional strengthening across the Global South.
The discussions also focused on the need to develop sustainable financing models and strengthen local institutions to ensure that successful development initiatives can be integrated into public systems and maintained over the long term.
President Mahama maintained that effective institutions, stronger domestic capacity and sound financial management would remain critical to helping countries create jobs, improve public services, develop infrastructure and expand opportunities for their populations.
