Africa must control its resources to achieve genuine economic independence, veteran journalist and Pan-Africanist Kwesi Pratt Jnr has stated.
Speaking at the International Youth Forum organised by the Pan-African Progressive Front in Accra, the Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper urged young Africans to reject Western economic blueprints. He explained that Western nations built their current wealth through the historic exploitation of African labor and mineral wealth. Consequently, copying those specific development models cannot yield true economic freedom for the continent.
He emphasized that the true fight for liberation requires complete ownership of natural assets. He cautioned against defining justice merely through financial payouts or the return of stolen cultural artifacts from European museums. According to him, true victory requires a complete restructuring of global political systems to ensure total human equality.
Kwesi Pratt advocates collective self-reliance
Addressing over 200 participants at the event, the veteran political commentator highlighted the necessity of regional integration. He stated that individual African nations remain vulnerable when negotiating separately with global economic superpowers.
Additionally, he referenced classic Pan-African visions championed by pioneering leaders like Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Patrice Lumumba. He noted that a unified continent featuring a single central bank and a unified military defense structure remains the most viable path forward. Furthermore, he raised concerns over contemporary security agreements signed between certain African governments and foreign nations, describing such choices as a distraction from long-term sovereign goals.
Meanwhile, forum participants formally adopted the Legon Declaration at the end of the event. The declaration expressed full solidarity with the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) while demanding immediate debt relief across the region. Delegates argued that current generations should not bear the financial burden of unpayable debts structured under modern economic arrangements. Furthermore, the declaration targeted monetary systems like the CFA franc, describing it as an instrument of continued external control rather than economic convenience.
Ultimately, Kwesi Pratt insisted that the campaign for reparative justice must transform basic structural relations. The veteran campaigner noted that collective action across African and Caribbean nations at the United Nations proves that unified diplomatic efforts yield concrete political results.
Source: GhanaWeb
