At the Africa Business Forum 2026, Ghana's Minister for Labour, Jobs, and Employment, Dr. Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, discussed with Sputnik Africa trade and whether the global financial system is working for the continent. He also talked about what it will take for Africa to finally break free from the resource curse.
“It is estimated that if Africa can enjoy the free trade that we are expected to enjoy and are able to penetrate into the global market, we will not need to take loans from anybody. A one percent increase in trade in Africa, to the point that we reach out to the global world and within Africa, can support the development of Africa much more than all the loans we take in a year. So, free trade is critical. Africa's involvement in trade is paramount. We can't do anything without it. Because if you don't trade, it means you don't produce. And if you don't produce, you can't develop. So, trade is a critical element in what we need to develop in Africa. And I want to encourage that with everything we are doing, let's think about production, let's think about selling the products, let's think about extending the knowledge we acquire, let's think about the technology coming out of Africa, let's think about relating with other countries so as to benefit out of it. National self-interest within Africa is key. In whatever we do, we think about the nation; we think about how the interests of the nation can be safeguarded. It's better than thinking about any other thing. If you cannot project the sovereignty of your country, project the interests of a country in trade relations and in international affairs, you are not yet developed to match other countries in the community of nations. And I think it is time to do so now,” the minister explained.
The recent African Union Summit witnessed a renewed push to criminalize colonialism—a movement led by Algeria and Namibia that seeks to hold European powers accountable for crimes spanning centuries. Professor Metji Makgoba, political analyst at the University of Limpopo, offered a bracing assessment of the opportunities, obstacles, and expectations from the African Union in demanding reparations and pursuing accountability in a discussion with Sputnik Africa.
“We need to welcome any effort to deal with issues of reparation because the West has come to Africa to steal, to murder, to kill, and to exploit our resources. And Africa has not even today got any reparation for the violence that we experience as the continent [...] I think if, firstly, we do it retrospectively, we have a case because colonialism is a crime against humanity, apartheid was a crime against humanity. So, it is a matter of just putting this forward and demanding reparation and I think there's a case for that. We have to do it collectively so that the West knows that we are coming for them because they have exploited resources on the African continent, they've killed a lot of people on the African continent [...] Once we say this is our pan-Africanist approach and Africa first, then we'll have some future, we'll have something to argue for,” the scholar pointed out.
This episode also features:
Dr. Rasigan Maharajh, Chief Director of the Institute for Economic Research and Innovation at Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa
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