Ghana’s Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, has implored African leaders to prioritise the well-being of their people instead of sustaining power.
Rather than focusing on the next election, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang wants politicians across the continent to think of the next generation, urging them to opt for policies rather than ballots in electoral contests.
The Vice President, opening the African Political Parties Summit 2025 in Accra on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, noted that “policies, when divorced from the pursuit of well-being, become empty.”
“Our people do not ask us to perform politics for its own sake. They deserve politics that translates into food security, decent jobs, functional schools, accessible healthcare, efficient infrastructure, security, and justice. They expect us to focus not just on the next election, but more importantly, on the next generation.”
The Vice President stressed the need to rise above the interests of the political class and prioritise the masses by working together, irrespective of the divide, to foster cooperation and tolerance for national development.
“Let’s adopt a long view… for the sake of policies and projects, and they must outlast our own political careers,” she said.
She further added her voice to the need for African nations to draft development agendas that would be respected by successive governments, rather than focusing on campaign manifestoes.
While acknowledging that leaders may not agree on everything, she said it was vital to “agree on the fundamentals” and work toward “an Africa united in vision to defy the odds,” citing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a success story.
She further challenged both ruling and opposition parties to ensure stability during elections, warning that instability endangers livelihoods.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang further shared how the African Political Parties Initiative (APPI) implementation framework at the summit would “help foster political cooperation across borders to address regional threats, deal with illicit trade, and respond to pandemics.”
The APPI framework, yet to be officially adopted, aims to create a platform for dialogue, build institutional capacity, sustain cooperation, resolve disputes, share ideas, and collaborate on shared priorities.
The three-day summit has brought together African Heads of State under the theme “From Politics to Prosperity.”
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