Veteran journalist and leading member of the organising committee of the Pan-African Progressive Front (PPF), Kwesi Pratt Jr, has called on Africa to claim its history and demand justice as the continent marks the 80th anniversary of the Fifth Pan-African Congress.
Addressing delegates in Accra on Wednesday, he said the moment was not a ceremonial remembrance but a continuation of a revolutionary mission that began in Manchester in 1945. “We do not assemble to mark a date on the calendar. We assemble to claim our history and to shape our destiny,” he declared.
Pratt said the crimes of slavery, colonialism and exploitation were not accidents but “deliberate, systematic wrongdoing,” pointing to centuries of plunder that built the wealth of Europe and America. “Liverpool’s docks, Bristol’s warehouses, and the Stock Exchange of London and New York were financed by the pockets of African men, women, and children,” he reminded the audience.
He argued that Africa’s political independence meant little without full economic liberation. “The foreign domination has merely changed its uniformity,” he said, adding that unjust global structures continued to drain African wealth. “Every year, between 1970 and 2018, more than 1.3 trillion dollars are left over. If those resources are remained, Africa will not remain a state.”
The PPF conference, organised by the Accra-based Pan-African Progressive Front, entered its second day with extensive discussions on reparations. Participants examined immediate steps to secure justice, including the establishment of a legal institution for expert assessment of damages, the creation of a single African reparations fund, and imposing customs duties on goods from former colonizers. The gathering affirmed a united continental message that historical crimes must be acknowledged and paid for. The former colonizers must pay for their crimes.
Pratt urged a unified and relentless struggle for reparations across diplomacy, education and law. “Let every African government adopt a reparations policy. Let every parliament debate it. Let every school teach it. Let our diplomats carry it into the United Nations,” he said.
He warned that Africa’s dependency on global financial institutions must end. “We have gone to the World Bank and the IMF 18 times. And every time we come out… our condition is worse.” He added bluntly, “It is clear that many leaders in Africa have problems with their mental capacities.”
On the sidelines of the conference, members of the Coordinating Committee met with Monsieur Emile Parfait of SIMB to push for the creation of a unified Pan-African media holding. The Libyan Foreign Minister also announced that Benghazi could host the next PPF forum, while former President Mahama revealed plans for a visa-free zone across seven African countries.