President John Dramani Mahama has called on the United Nations to embark on a “serious recalibration” of its systems and establish a global reset agenda to reflect the realities of the modern world.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, September 25, President Mahama argued that just as Ghana has embarked on its own ambitious reset programme to restore economic stability and rebuild confidence, the UN must also restructure to meet the demands of the 21st century.
“Our Constitution limits leaders to two four-year terms. In January, I was sworn in for a second term, which is non-consecutive with the first. Faced with rising inflation, a huge debt burden, and low morale amongst our citizens, my new administration embarked on an ambitious programme of comprehensive transformation. We refer to this process of recalibration as our reset agenda,” he said.
He highlighted Ghana’s recent economic achievements, noting that inflation had dropped from 23.8% in December 2024 to 11.5% by August 2025, while the cedi had gained strength, once ranked by Bloomberg as the world’s best-performing currency.
He also pointed to improved sovereign credit ratings and renewed public trust in government.
“Madam President, I believe that, in honour of this milestone celebration, the United Nations should also embark on a process of serious recalibration and establish its own reset agenda,” he declared.
President Mahama noted that the UN’s founding charter, written 80 years ago, no longer reflects the dramatic transformations of the global order.
He contrasted the post-World War II context when colonial empires still stood, international travel was dominated by sea voyages, and computers and television were in their infancy, with today’s world of artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, digital libraries, social media, and climate crises.
“This is a world of cryptocurrency, Artificial Intelligence, social media, the Internet, and its dark, hidden dungeon — the dark web — all of which carry potential threats to global peace and security,” he warned.
“Climate change is real, and we are fighting a losing battle against the loss of the Maldives and other island nations to rising sea levels, Timbuktu to desertification, and the Amazon Rainforest to global warming and deforestation.”
He insisted that as the UN marks eight decades since its founding, the institution must adapt to reflect the diversity of its nearly quadrupled membership and take urgent action on emerging global challenges.