Watch as Rawlings speaks on Africa’s economic dependence on the West

Former Ghanaian President Jerry John Rawlings criticised Africa’s economic dependence on Western countries in a speech delivered in the 1980s.

In a resurfaced footage, Rawlings highlighted the decline in cocoa prices, comparing the £3,500 previously paid for a tonne of cocoa to approximately £1,000 at the time.

"There was a time when you used to give us about £3,500 for a ton of cocoa. Today, you're giving us something around the region of a thousand pounds," he said.

He argued that African countries were being compelled to work harder to produce raw materials while paying increasingly higher prices for imported manufactured goods.

"Meanwhile, your goods, the prices of your goods, have just risen and gone up and up and up," Rawlings added.

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He also criticised European trade policies, citing a 27% European Economic Community (EEC) tariff on chocolate, which he said discouraged countries such as Ghana from processing cocoa into finished products.

"The EEC put a 27% tariff on chocolate, so it doesn't pay for countries like Ghana to manufacture cocoa into chocolate. They have to sell it raw, yet the price of raw cocoa sometimes falls," he stated.

Rawlings further questioned Africa's economic relationship with Western countries, arguing that the continent's dependence had evolved beyond physical colonial control.

"Today, you don't need chains because of the influence of our minds. You've got us all trapped," he said.

Footage of Jerry John Rawlings discussing Ghana’s declining cocoa prices, the rising cost of imported manufactured goods, and Africa’s economic dependence on the West in the 1980s. https://t.co/YP2odvvCiU

— GHANA FACTS & HISTORY (@GhanaianMuseum) November 12, 2026