President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana has called on African governments to make urgent and substantial investments in road and rail infrastructure, warning that the continent’s economic ambitions will falter without efficient transport systems.
Speaking at the close of a three-day state visit to Zambia, Mr. Mahama said the lack of interconnected logistics networks continues to inflate the cost of doing business, hinder regional integration, and limit trade among African nations.
“The logistical infrastructure for trading among ourselves is a problem, and that is why we must leverage the money to be able to put in that infrastructure,” he said. “There must be trains running between Zambia and Ethiopia, and there must be trains running everywhere, so that we can carry heavy cargo more cheaply.”
Mr. Mahama argued that Africa’s aspirations under frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) would remain difficult to realize unless governments moved beyond policy rhetoric and committed significant financial resources to building transport corridors.
He noted that while leaders often speak of boosting intra-African trade, poor infrastructure has made it cheaper in some cases to trade with Europe or Asia than with neighboring countries. “There must be roads interconnecting our countries, and if we can put in that infrastructure, the trade networks will develop so that it is no more expensive to trade among ourselves,” he said.
His visit to Zambia centered on strengthening bilateral ties and addressing broader continental challenges, including trade, infrastructure development, and regional integration.
