The Head of the Pan African Progressive Front (PPF), Mr Humphrey Quaye, has called on African youth to take the lead in the continent’s struggle for economic freedom, debt cancellation and reparative justice.
Addressing a Youth Forum on Debt and Reparations in Accra on Saturday, September 5, 2026, under the theme “Youth of Africa; Africa’s Freedom is in Our Hands!!!”, Mr Quaye said Africa’s current economic difficulties could not be fully understood without examining the historical impact of slavery, colonialism and what he described as neocolonial economic control.
He said the choice of Accra for the forum was significant, given Ghana’s historic role in the Pan-African liberation struggle under the leadership of the country’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Mr Quaye recalled Nkrumah’s famous position that Ghana’s independence would have little meaning unless it contributed to the total liberation of Africa, arguing that the principle remained relevant as African countries grapple with mounting debt, unemployment and economic dependence.
According to him, Africa’s debt crisis should be viewed alongside centuries of extraction and exploitation of the continent’s human and natural resources.
“For 400 years they took our know-how without due credit and our labour for free. For 100 years they took our lands, minerals and other resources for free. Now, they lend us our own stolen wealth at interest, and call us debtors.” Read Also: TOR MD Says Award Must Spur Greater Performance
He therefore argued that conversations about Africa’s debt must go beyond repayment and financial restructuring to include restitution, reparations and historical justice.
Mr Quaye said reparative justice remained a central objective of the PPF, which he described as a united front bringing together progressive political parties, trade unions, youth and women’s movements, peasant associations, socialist formations and other mass organisations from Africa, the Caribbean and the Black Diaspora.
He outlined several initiatives undertaken by the organisation, including the establishment of its international headquarters in Accra in June 2025.
He also cited a Pan-African conference that brought together more than 60 organisations from 32 countries, as well as the International Conference of Progressive Pan-African Forces held in Accra in November 2025 to mark the 80th anniversary of the Fifth Pan-African Congress held in Manchester in 1945.
Mr Quaye described the Accra conference as “Manchester 2.0”, saying the 1945 gathering helped galvanise the struggle for political independence while the present generation must now advance the struggle for economic independence and reparative justice.
He said the 2025 conference attracted more than 200 delegates from 57 countries and produced the Accra Declaration and the Special Accra Declaration on Reparations. http://ghanaweb.com
Among the proposals, he said, was the establishment of a Joint Institute for the Assessment of Damage and Documentation of the Colonial Legacy to provide a stronger historical, scientific and legal basis for Africa’s reparations claims.
The PPF also proposed the creation of a Pan-African Reparations Justice Fund to manage reparatory resources under principles of transparency and accountability.
Mr Quaye further demanded the return of African cultural artefacts taken during the colonial era, describing their continued possession by foreign institutions as a painful reminder of the continent’s history of exploitation.
Youth at the Centre
Turning his attention to young Africans, Mr Quaye said the consequences of the continent’s debt crisis were being experienced directly through unemployment, limited economic opportunities and growing pressure on national economies.
He urged young people to reject passivity and become active participants in decisions that would shape their future.
“Your student loans, your inability to find work after graduation, the IMF dictating your national budgets – that is the debt trap,” he said.
He called on African youth to unite behind demands for the cancellation of what they consider illegitimate or odious debt, as well as reparations for historical exploitation.
Mr Quaye also charged the forum to develop a Youth Chapter of the Accra Declaration, focusing on issues such as climate justice, technology sovereignty and the future of Africa’s young population.
He encouraged young Africans to organise across university campuses, communities and digital platforms and to participate actively in campaigns for national and regional reparations bodies.
Concluding his address, Mr Quaye urged the younger generation to draw inspiration from the African leaders and intellectuals who spearheaded the 1945 Pan-African Congress.
He said the responsibility now rested with the youth to continue the struggle for an Africa that was economically independent, free from excessive debt and capable of determining its own future.
“The youth of Africa must tell the creditors and the former colonisers: We are here to collect, and collect we shall!” he declared.
He ended his address with calls for “Reparations Now” and renewed Pan-African unity.
