The subject of restitutions, he said, must go along with the matter of reparations, since according to him, “no amount of money can restore the damage caused by slave trade and its consequences which have spanned many centuries.”

This was when he addressed attendees of the first meeting of the Africa Heritage Restitution Movement (AHRM) organised by the Open Society Foundations (OSF) at the W.E.B. Du Bois centre in Accra.

Speaking under the theme: “African Heritage Restitution Movement,” which is calling for the return of African cultural materials, the Ghanaian leader said there is no better time than now for those who committed the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade to pay reparations and to return all illegally acquired cultural properties.

“Nevertheless, it is now time to revive and intensify the discussion for reparations for our Africa. Indeed, the time is long overdue. If reparations can rightfully be paid to victims of the holocaust, so can reparation be paid to victims of the slave trade,” he charged.

He stressed the need for the issues of restitution, return, reparation and repatriation of stolen and looted African cultural properties under pre-colonial and colonial circumstances to be of major concern to all Africans.

These concerns have in recent times dominated public discourse on the continent, with governments, civil society groups, traditional authorities, scholars, and researchers all calling for the return of African cultural properties that were illegally transported from the continent.

The President further indicated that he supports “fully, the initiative for the return and reparation of  African cultural properties to the continent as it will help Africans and, in particular, the descendants of the communities, groups and individuals who created and produced these cultural properties to reconnect to their history, to their pioneers, to their knowledge and their skills.”

He believes, “this reconnection of the past and the present will also help to build new relations with the international community, especially that of Europe which was principally responsible for the original thefts of the cultural properties.”

“Most of these cultural properties, when returned, will also offer Africans the opportunity to develop local knowledge of the technological, cultural, social and ecstatic value of the objects,” President Akufo-Addo remarked.

Being mindful of the complexities of the repatriation and restitution process and the sensitivity of the holders, and potential recipients of illegally acquired properties, he indicated that Ghana’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has set up a national focal team on restitution and repatriation to research and advise on international best practices and guidelines that will support the country on the restitution processes.

That, he said, was because “the restitution of cultural properties is not without tension and contestation, as it requires the establishment of true ownership and providence of the cultural properties to be returned and repatriated.”

To ensure that the restitution processes do not invoke undue contestation and tension, President Akufo-Addo said “it is important for state and non-state institutions, activist groups, and local community leaders work in partnership with their international counterparts based on mutual trust and respect. This will involve dialogue, negotiation and consensus building at all levels.”

Restitution Movement

In recent years, the long struggle for the restitution of African Heritage which started during colonisation entered a new phase and in 2017, there was a resurgence of the movement which urged lawmakers, private collectors, and museums to expedite objects illicitly taken from the African continent during the colonial period.

Against this backdrop, Open Society Foundations Global Initiative for the Restitution for African Cultural Heritage convening is focused on interrogating key questions to continue to advance and build a resilient and sustainable restitution movement.

The three-day summit taking place in Ghana will feature opening and closing plenary sessions, interactive thematic sessions, performances, and networking opportunities for key stakeholders including, representatives from the African Union, ECOWAS, NGOs, UN agencies, artists, academia, creative communities, civil society and the African Diaspora.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent