Vice President Professor has called for a bold transformation in Africa's approach to development financing, urging a shift away from traditional donor aid towards sustainable, locally driven economic models.
Delivering a keynote address at the 3rd Ghana Civil Society Forum (GCSF) in Accra on June 25, 2025, the Vice President emphasized the urgency of reimagining development in a way that prioritizes innovation, local ownership, and inclusive growth.
The forum, themed "Reimagining Development Financing and Civic Action: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Way Forward," brought together key stakeholders from government, civil society, development partners, 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 stated. "Reimagining financing means moving from dependency to ownership." Prof.
Opoku-Agyemang highlighted a series of government reforms aimed at enhancing domestic resource mobilization, including the expansion of the tax base, strengthened oversight to combat gold smuggling, and the planned removal of the COVID-19 and E-Levy taxes in the 2025 national budget.
