F.K. Buah Memorial Lectures: Most of Ghana's current economic woes direct result of imperialist meddling - Kwesi Pratt

The Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr has lamented over the fact that African leaders including President Akufo Addo seem to be moving away "from the dreams of the independence movement".

He cited the ruling Akufo-Addo administration's signing of a military pact with the United States of America; giving privileges to their soldiers than even Ambassadors and High Commissioners under the Geneva Convention as an example, saying "it's beyond understanding for any self-respecting government in Africa" to do that.

Kwesi Pratt, who was addressing the first F.K. Buah Memorial lectures held at Tema Senior High School over the weekend, was of the conviction that if "the current trend should continue, Africa will look like Djibouti which has become contested space where every and any country with some military might has set camp".

Economic Struggles

The renowned journalist has meanwhile urged African leaders to move out of economic struggles.

"History teaches us that the current economic conditions in Ghana are the direct result of imperialist meddling...the cumulative effect of these measures is that today, Ghana needs more than 100 percent of total national revenue to cater for debt servicing, debt repayment and public sector emoluments. Food inflation is hovering around 120 percent and the real value of wages and salaries are less than 15 percent of what they used to be in the mid-1970s. Unfortunately, this is not peculiar to Ghana. All of Africa appears to be in the same situation and we need to get out of it".