President John Dramani Mahama has called on African leaders, youth, women, and workers to join hands in renewing the Pan-African vision at the opening of the 80th anniversary commemoration of the Fifth Pan-African Congress, organised by the Accra-based Pan-African Progressive Front (PPF).
The two-day international conference brings together African scholars, activists, political leaders, and members of the diaspora, all united in reaffirming the Pan-African vision that began in Manchester in 1945.
Speaking at the event in Accra, Mahama said, “Today, as we gather here in Accra, home of Kwame Nkrumah, home of George Padmore, W.E.B. Du Bois, and the Pan-African struggle, we are not merely commemorating history. We’re renewing a covenant, a covenant of responsibility, a covenant of unity, a covenant to build an Africa worthy of the sacrifices of those who came before us.”
Mahama highlighted the ongoing challenges Africa faces, noting, “Our generation faces new forms of domination, some subtle, some obvious, some economic, some technological, some ideological, and some political. Africa remains a continent rich in natural resources, but poor in global influence. We remain the custodians of the world’s minerals, energy, biodiversity, and youthful population. And yet, too many of our people remain unemployed, undereducated, or excluded from opportunity.”
He further outlined the battles that define today’s Pan-Africanism, saying, “The struggle of this moment is not for independence or from colonial domination. It is a struggle for economic transformation, technological sovereignty, climate justice, a fairer global financial order, political stability and democratic accountability, the full implementation of the African continental free trade area, and a united continent where Africans can travel freely on their own continent.”
Mahama stressed Ghana’s continued role in the Pan-African agenda: “Ghana has always been the heartbeat of the Pan-African agenda. And under our renewed leadership, we continue to uphold the principles that guided Nkrumah and his contemporaries. Our vision for a reset Ghana is inseparable from the vision of a reset Africa, an Africa that owns its own development, mobilises its resources, and believes in its collective strength.”
He also called for climate justice and youth empowerment: “In this century, the fight for Africa’s dignity includes the fight for climate justice. Africa contributes the least to global emissions and yet suffers disproportionately from droughts, cyclones, rising temperatures, and flooding. More than 60% of Africa’s population is under 35 years of age. The next generation of Pan-Africanists will not gather in secret rooms or liberation movements. They will gather in innovation hubs, in coding laboratories, in creative studios, in universities, and even in digital communities.”
He further stressed African unity and leadership, saying, “Africans will determine Africa’s destiny, not by external forces, not by global markets, not by geopolitical competition, but by the courage, creativity, and the unity of the African people. And so let this anniversary ignite us, ignite in us a renewed sense of purpose, let it strengthen our resolve to build a prosperous, peaceful, united, and dignified Africa.”
The PPF conference will climax on Wednesday with the adoption of the Accra Declaration, a roadmap for Africa’s future, alongside another declaration demanding reparations. On the opening day, participants discussed actionable steps toward reparations, including the waiver of payments on loans with onerous terms, the creation of a single African reparations fund, and customs duties on goods from former colonizers.