Citing Ghana’s “reset,” President Mahama urges UN to embark on its own “recalibration”

President John Dramani Mahama held up Ghana’s remarkable economic turnaround under his administration’s “reset agenda” as a compelling model for the United Nations to follow in its own reform process.

Detailing the challenges he inherited in January 2025, including a rapidly depreciating currency, high inflation, and low national morale, President Mahama reported significant progress in just eight months.

“We have achieved a significant reduction in inflation, from 23.8% in December 2024 to 11.5% in August 2025, restoring price stability for our citizens,” he announced at the 80th UN General Assembly on September 25. He also highlighted that “the Ghana cedi has appreciated considerably against other currencies, with Bloomberg reporting it as the best-performing currency in the world at one point,” a feat that has boosted investor confidence. 

Drawing a parallel, President Mahama suggested that the 80-year-old UN must also undergo a “process of serious recalibration.”

He reflected on how much the world had changed during the eight-year gap between his non-consecutive terms, stating his return felt like awakening from a “Rip Van Winkle-style slumber.” 

He then posed a rhetorical question to the assembly: “imagine, then, what it would be like after eighty years,” urging the UN to establish its own “reset agenda” for the modern era.