By Rachel Quartey & Rukayatu Musah
Vice President, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has called for a radical rethinking of development financing across Africa, urging a shift from traditional donor aid to sustainable, citizen-centered models of growth.
Speaking at the 3rd Ghana Civil Society Forum (GCSF) held at the GNAT Hall in Accra, the Vice President emphasized the need for innovation and local ownership in driving inclusive development.
The event, themed “Reimagining Development Financing and Civic Action: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Way Forward”, brought together representatives from government, development partners, civil society, and the diplomatic community.
“In an era where aid is declining and public debt is rising, we can no longer rely on external assistance as the primary engine of development,” she said. “Reimagining financing means moving from dependency to ownership.”
She outlined key government reforms aimed at deepening domestic resource mobilization, including tax base expansion, gold smuggling oversight, and removal of levies such as the COVID-19 and E-Levy in the 2025 budget. She also pointed to emerging tools like climate finance, diaspora bonds, and sovereign wealth vehicles as alternatives to donor-led models.
Highlighting the vital role of civic action, the Vice President praised the efforts of civil society in amplifying citizen voices, ensuring accountability, and co-creating local solutions. She reaffirmed the government’s commitment to an enabling environment for civic actors, including the passage of a Non-Profit Bill, structured dialogue platforms, and support for local philanthropy.
“Our development future must be built with ordinary people in mind,” she stated. “Civil society, youth groups, women’s associations and traditional leaders are central to this mission.”
The Vice President also spoke of opportunities ahead—such as the African Continental Free Trade Area and Ghana’s youthful population—as reasons to invest in education, digital skills, and youth-led civic engagement.
She concluded with a call for a new social contract based on shared accountability, co-investment, and decentralized power. “Let Ghana be a place where local initiative meets strategic investment, where accountability meets empowerment.”
National Development Planning Committee Chairman, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson backed the Vice President’s call, emphasizing the need for transparency and efficiency in utilizing foreign aid to maximize impact.
“I strongly propose that CSOs re-invent, or better yet, re-engineer a system to ensure that whatever additional resources they are able to mobilize as donor priorities and resources shift and result in lower funding levels, which are aggregated by declining funds as utilized decision,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Executive Director of STAR-Ghana Foundation, Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, suggested establishing a peer review mechanism to monitor and evaluate civil society organizations’ performance, addressing concerns about inefficiencies and accountability.
Mr. Amidu said “we need to shine a light on the civic sector, how we can identify and bravely confront the challenges that we face, some of which are self-inflicted, so that the civil sector at the end of the day can be an equal and constructive partner to governments and other stakeholders in the drive towards development.”
The forum marked a crucial step in aligning civil society and government efforts towards inclusive and sustainable development amid growing global and domestic economic challenges.
One Response
I completely concur with Madam Vice President on this matter.
Thank you.