President John Dramani Mahama has outlined a bold vision for Africa’s economic and social transformation at the opening of the 80th anniversary commemoration of the Fifth Pan-African Congress.

The two-day conference, organized by the Pan-African Progressive Front (PPF), brought together scholars, activists, and political leaders from across the continent and the diaspora.

“The struggle of this moment is not for independence or from colonial domination. It is a struggle for economic transformation, technological sovereignty, climate justice, a fairer global financial order, political stability and democratic accountability, the full implementation of the African continental free trade area, and a united continent where Africans can travel freely on their own continent,” President Mahama said.

Emphasizing regional integration and intra-African cooperation, he revealed plans to establish a “League of African Free Movement,” initially among seven countries. “For those seven countries, if any of our citizens want to travel to each other’s countries, they won’t require a visa. We expect that as others agree and join, we shall welcome them into our league until finally we have an Africa where our people can move freely without obstruction.”

The president underlined that Pan-Africanism must also focus on reparations for historical injustices. “All of Africa awaits historical justice, recognition of the West’s crimes and repentance for them,” he said, echoing the discussions on creating a single African reparations fund and using customs duties on goods from former colonizers to support the continent’s development.