"Who should compensate whom?" - Afenyo-Markin sparks heated Parliamentary debate over slavery reparations

Afenyo-Markin sparked a heated Parliamentary debate on Friday, March 27, on the floor of Parliament. The debate was over reparatory justice for the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Afenyo-Markin challenged the current narrative of reparations, stating: "When somebody berths a vessel at Cape Coast, and you decide to go to the North, Bono area, get to the Ashanti area, and to the Assin area, and you are chasing your strongest among your own people, then after 100 years, you say, 'I should be compensated'."

The Minority Leader questioned the logic of modern-day demands for financial redress without acknowledging internal culpability. He also condemned the human rights violations of the period. Mahama Ayariga defended the necessity of reparations, arguing that the current economic disparity between the Global North and South is a direct result of the capital accumulated through centuries of free, forced labour. Mr. Ayariga argued: "Many of those countries that have wealth can trace their wealth to slavery. Many of the capitalist countries that have become rich started from plantations that were worked on by slaves. It is the labour of these slaves that helped them to build capital."

The Parliamentary clash mirrors a broader debate within the African Union and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). President Mahama and Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa have been advocating for "reparatory justice" on the international stage at the United Nations.