ACCRA NEWS JOURNAL

The ongoing efforts by African leaders demanding reparative justice from the West has faced a pushback from a renowned Ghanaian economist.

The Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Dr. John Kwakye believes the spirited efforts for compensation from the West is a just a waste of time and resources.

This opposition from the economist was occasioned by President John Dramani Mahama‘s latest call for African leaders to intensify actions in seeking for the reparation. Mr. Mahama who was speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the 38th Ordinary Session of the African Union in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa called for concrete steps and decisive actions to drive home the demand.

“The force extraction of wealth, including minerals, cash crops, and labor, deprived African nations of the capital and infrastructure needed for sustainable development,” President Mahama argued at the AU session.

Originators of reparative justice believe that the injustices of the colonial era perpetuated by the West through the slave trade and other forms of exploitation are a robbery of the African continent. The forced extraction of natural and human resources and the disruption of social systems continue to have a lasting economic impact on African nations.

They therefore demand that Africans be compensated by the West citing payments made to the Holocaust survivors and victims as precedents.

The call for reparations has gained momentum in recent years, with leaders from the African Union, the Caribbean, and other affected regions making formal demands for compensation. The CARICOM (Caribbean Community) has been actively pursuing legal avenues to secure financial restitution for the descendants of enslaved Africans.

Countries like Barbados and Jamaica have also demanded direct payments and debt cancellations as forms of reparative justice.

But Dr. John Kwakye believes the demands, especially by African leaders are a misplaced priority. Although he admits the exploitation and the harm committed by the West on Africa, he is convinced that the continent still has the opportunity to secure its economic future instead of waiting for compensation which may or may not materialize.

He is rather calling for the protection of the remaining resources from the West which is still being siphoned through multinational corporations.

“While colonization robbed Africa of huge amounts of resources, l don’t believe that we need to waste too much time on reparation. Let’s rather protect the equally huge resources that we have now from further foreign exploitation, which is still going on,” the economist who once worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicated in an X post cited by The High Street Journal.

As discussions on reparative justice continue, Dr. Kwakye’s stance adds an important dimension to the debate. He is rather challenging African leaders to look inward and take control of the continent’s destiny rather than relying on restitution from former colonial masters.

Whether or not reparations are eventually granted, his stance underscores the urgent need for Africa to take decisive action in protecting and utilizing its resources for the benefit of its people.