President John Dramani Mahama has delivered a strong message against Africa’s long-standing reliance on foreign aid, insisting that the continent must abandon what he described as a culture of “begging” and take full responsibility for its own development.

Reflecting on his address to the Zambian Parliament on Thursday, February 6, President Mahama said Africa can no longer depend on declining humanitarian assistance and must urgently pursue a self-sustaining development path anchored in unity and shared purpose.

“Humanitarian assistance has gone down. Africa cannot continue going cup in hand begging for that kind of support. We need to pull ourselves together,” the President said in an interview with Joy News on Friday.

He explained that his parliamentary address was deliberately framed to challenge African leaders to rethink the continent’s development model and embrace the principles of the Accra Reset, which emphasise regional cooperation, unity and collective decision-making.

“I chose to give a speech that rallies Africa together based on the objectives of the Accra Reset so that we can come together and make collective decisions,” he noted.

According to President Mahama, Africa’s future prosperity depends on deeper collaboration, particularly in trade, natural resource management and coordinated economic planning.

He stressed that self-reliance and unity are critical if the continent is to strengthen its global bargaining power, reduce dependence on external support and take full control of its destiny in the international system.