Ghanaian Economist Shoots Down African Leaders’ Demand for Reparation, Debt Relief from the West

Ghanaian economist, Dr. John Kwakye, has slammed the growing clarion call for reparation and debt relief from the West for African countries championed by the continent’s leaders.

This position taken by the Director of Research for the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), is likely to raise eyebrows and generate a heated debate.

For Dr. John Kwakye is rather a shame for African leaders to consider seeking reparation and debt relief, considering the enormous natural resources the continent is blessed with. In his view, the continent is far from broke when it comes to natural riches.

In an X post cited by The High Street Journal, the economist was emphatic that, “Africa has no business seeking aid, debt relief or reparation.”

He cannot fathom why the continent will tow that line, “when it is the richest continent in terms of natural resources.”

According to him, a land dripping in oil, gas, gold, diamonds, and more isn’t poor, just that it’s poorly governed. He argues the real atrocities are plunder by elites and illicit wealth flows, not the ghosts of colonial subsidies.

The calls for reparations and debt relief aren’t new, but they’ve gained fresh momentum. In Addis Ababa this year, the African Union (AU) pushed plans at its summit for compensation for slavery, colonialism, and systemic inequality

At the Accra Reparation Conference 2023, the AU and CARICOM launched a Global Reparations Fund, aiming to reclaim financial redress, stolen artifacts, land restitution, technological transfer, and debt cancellation.

This is a campaign targeted at former colonial powers who are also the very architecture of global finance and trade, accused of perpetuating a neocolonial resource extraction regime still starving African states of full value.

Dr. Kwakye’s fierce response reflects a growing debate across Africa. For the economist, begging for more aid, debt relief, and reparations is not the solution to Africa’s woes. He insists it is time to own, dig in, harness local resources, and put their own house in order.

He wrote that, “The continent just needs to take ownership of its natural resources and reduce corruption to turn it from a poor continent to a rich one.”

Other critics of the reparation demands argue that corruption and weak governance divert billions yearly. It is estimated that Africa loses nearly $90 billion annually through illicit outflows

They fear that even reparative funds could be absorbed by the same dysfunctional networks they’re meant to rebuild.

However, proponents of the demands insist that structural injustice demands more than moral apologies, citing colonial wealth extraction and ongoing underdevelopment

Some analysts estimate that African deserves reparations to the tune of over $100 trillion. Despite the arguments, reparations, if properly channeled into education, infrastructure, and healthcare, can address the root causes of poverty.

However, Dr. Kwakye maintains Africa has everything it needs, if only its leaders chose reform over foreign dependency. But the reparations camp maintains that historical justice and economic transformation require more than resource ownership.

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