Mahama Calls for Urgent Rollout of Pan-African Payment System at AU Summit
Mahama urges African leaders to implement Pan-African payment system to boost intra-continental trade
- Mahama pushes Pan-African payment system to reduce foreign currency reliance.
- Notes progress in air and maritime transport across Africa.
- Calls for action, not just policy, under the Accra Reset agenda.
John Dramani Mahama has urged African leaders to accelerate the establishment of a Pan-African payment and settlement system, warning that reliance on third-party currencies hampers true continental economic integration.
Speaking at the “Accra Reset’s Addis Reckoning” forum on the sidelines of the 39th African Union Assembly on 15 February, Mahama highlighted that currency conversion requirements remain a major barrier to intra-African trade.
“The Pan-African payment and settlement system is a thing whose time has come — and with urgency. I should be able to ship my goods to Kenya and get paid in cedis rather than a foreign currency,” he said, referencing concerns raised by Wamkele Mene.
Mahama described reforming payment systems as a central element of the broader Accra Reset agenda, aimed at dismantling structural dependencies within Africa’s financial architecture.
Beyond finance, he highlighted improvements in transport and logistics as key to continental integration. He praised ASKY Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines for expanding air connectivity and pointed to emerging maritime services along the West African coast, including reefer vessels between Dakar and Douala, and a proposed ferry linking Accra, Lagos, and Monrovia.
“Once supply and demand are in place, the logistics will follow,” Mahama said, stressing that Africa’s growth benefits the global economy.
He urged African leaders to move beyond policy debates to concrete action: “As we said, this is the Addis reckoning. From Addis, we must stop talking and start implementing.”
