Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama said Oct. 21 that the lack of a United Nations resolution to help finance a West African standby force had delayed its deployment to tackle insecurity.
At the Financial Times Africa Summit in London, Mahama also said he was unconcerned about Russian security assistance in the Sahel, Reuters reported. He said “anybody who is committed to the fight against terrorism is welcome.”
Mahama also outlined plans to process more of Ghana’s commodities at home. He put the current domestic share of gold refining before export at 70% and predicted it would reach 100% soon.
For cocoa, Mahama wants local processors to handle at least 50% of Ghana’s beans. He said that would leave only 50% of each year’s production available for export and should create jobs.
Mahama said Ghana aims to ban raw-material exports by 2030 to retain more value from lithium, manganese, bauxite and gold.
