Ghana Must Align Mineral Processing Efforts With Regional Neighbors – Mahama

According to recent reports from JoyNews, President John Dramani Mahama has called for stronger regional collaboration and strategic alignment across West Africa to maximize the economic value of the continent’s rich mineral resources through localized processing and value addition.

Speaking on West Africa’s industrialization and resource governance, Mahama emphasized that African nations must move away from the historical trend of exporting raw, unprocessed minerals. He argued that individual national efforts, while commendable, are insufficient to build globally competitive processing facilities without regional integration.

Mahama urged Ghana to actively align its mineral processing strategies with neighboring countries to create economies of scale, share technical expertise, and establish unified supply chains. By harmonizing policy frameworks across the sub-region, West African nations can attract higher levels of direct investment, build modern refining infrastructure, and retain significant revenue within their local economies.

The President highlighted key extractives, including gold, bauxite, manganese, and critical transition minerals like lithium, stressing that local refining and manufacturing are central to creating sustainable job opportunities for West Africa’s growing youth population. He noted that exporting unrefined raw materials effectively exports potential industrial jobs, economic growth, and technological development to foreign markets.

Mahama called on regional bodies like ECOWAS and neighboring governments to prioritize joint cross-border infrastructure, trade facilitation, and common industrial standards. Such coordinated action, he maintained, will strengthen Africa’s collective bargaining power on the international market and ensure that the continent’s natural wealth drives long-term economic independence and transformation.

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