President John Dramani Mahama says Africa’s peace and security efforts are being undermined by lack of political will and failure by governments to implement agreed commitments.
He said Africa had developed several frameworks and initiatives to address its security challenges, but the commitment to translate them into action remained inadequate.
Speaking at the 12th Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa in Ethiopia, President Mahama cited Agenda 2063, the African Peace and Security Architecture and the Silencing the Guns initiative as examples of existing frameworks whose implementation needed greater attention.
“Africa does not lack brilliant frameworks. We have Agenda 2063. We have the African Peace and Security Architecture. We have silencing the guns,” he said.
“Our problem is not the ink on the paper. It is the courage of execution,” he added.
President Mahama said political will should be demonstrated through concrete actions, including the release of pledged funds, effective security sector reforms and the protection of citizens rather than political regimes.
He pointed to the African Union’s peacekeeping operations in Somalia, which require about $150 million annually, as an example of the continent’s financial challenges.
According to him, the African Union Peace Fund could barely provide $20 million, leaving African peace and security efforts heavily dependent on external funding.
He warned that when foreign governments cut funding for peacekeeping missions, African countries were left vulnerable to decisions over which they had limited influence.
“That is not an African solution to African problems. That is external dependency,” he said, calling on African countries to finance their own peace initiatives.
President Mahama also cited the worsening security situation in the Sahel, where he said the divide between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Alliance of Sahel States had weakened regional security cooperation.
He called on African governments to implement agreements, fund their security programmes and strengthen cooperation across borders.
He further urged regional and continental institutions to hold member states accountable for failing to honour their commitments, while encouraging African countries to strengthen trade and economic integration as part of efforts to prevent conflicts.
President Mahama made the remarks while presenting the 2026 State of Peace and Security in Africa report, covering the period from January 2025 to June 2026.
He urged African leaders to move beyond declarations and take practical steps to address the political and economic factors driving insecurity across the continent.
