Mahama calls on Africa to fund its peace operations
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on MyJoyOnline
Ghanaian President John Mahama has called on African countries to increase funding for their peace operations and reduce their dependence on foreign donors. He cited the annual cost of around $190 million for the African Union’s Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia, compared with $20 million that could be mobilised by the AU Peace Fund, according to his speech at the Tana Forum in Ethiopia.
Ghanaian President John Mahama has called on African countries to finance more of their own peace operations, tackle illicit financial flows and strengthen their technological capabilities. He was speaking at the 12th Tana High-Level Forum on Peace in Africa, in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, MyJoyOnline reports.
Mahama cited the transition from ATMIS to AUSSOM, the African Union missions in Somalia, whose funding requires around $190 million a year, while the AU Peace Fund could raise only around $20 million. He said dependence on foreign funding limited African countries’ influence over decisions concerning their security.
The Ghanaian president also called for better implementation of commitments made under Agenda 2063, the African Peace and Security Architecture and the ‘Silencing the Guns’ initiative. He called on the African Union and regional organisations to assess states’ shortcomings, finance their peace budgets and ratify agreements on the free movement of people, according to MyJoyOnline.
His call comes after John Mahama highlighted economic sovereignty at the heart of African security on 24 October. On 22 October, the Ghanaian president had also defended his country’s non-alignment to attract investors, in a position on Ghana’s non-alignment.
