Guyana’s President asks African leaders to develop a system for payment of reparations.

According to him, the argument had moved on from whether or not there was a genuine claim for recompense to the affected persons, as the culprits had already accepted responsibility and apologised.

“I think we have long gone past that question…that recognition has already been given that reparation must be paid so there is no longer any debate whether there is the need for reparation. We have long gone past that.

What is needed now is mechanism, the structure, how are we going to move from apology to a mechanism that leads to reparation and that definitely cannot take another 100 years. That should be objective…that should be the focus, that should be the singular focus of all of us,” he emphasised.

Dr. Ali made the request while participating in the Presidential Panel Dialogue with business leaders at the second edition of the African Prosperity Dialogue (APD), which was hosted by the African Prosperity Network (APN) in Peduase, Akuapim South Municipality, Eastern Region.

The Presidential Panel Dialogue section of the three-day ADP is on the theme: “Leveraging Reparations for Infrastructure for Africa and Global Africa.”

He said the issue of reparation now required getting the guilty party to establish a mechanism of payment, adding that “there is nothing to blush over, there is nothing to gloss over. The recognition is there, an apology has been made… are we going to wait for another 500 years for the mechanism for reparation? No!” he stated emphatically.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for his part, has committed to mobilise his fellow heads of state to promote interoperability and make it widely available across Africa.

He stated that mobile money interoperability allowed dealers and clients to move funds across mobile money accounts on different platforms while also lowering the cost of beginning transactions across networks.

President Akufo-Addo stated that with the appropriate political will, interoperability may become a reality across Africa.

“Just like I did last year, I intend, with the support of my colleagues, to present the Peduase Compact to the 37th Ordinary Assembly of Heads of State in Addis Ababa in three weeks’ time.”