Africa cannot develop by copying the West – Kwesi Pratt

General Secretary of the Socialist Movement of Ghana (SMG), Kwesi Pratt Jnr., has challenged African countries to reject Western development models and pursue self-reliance.

Speaking at the International Youth Forum, Mr. Pratt argued that Africa cannot achieve meaningful development by attempting to replicate the economic systems of countries such as Britain, Germany, France, and the United States.

He said the economic advancement of several Western countries was historically linked to the exploitation of Africa through slavery, colonialism, forced labour, and the extraction of the continent’s resources.

“The records indicate that at least 12.6 million Africans were captured and sent to Europe and the Americas as beasts of burden,” he said.

According to Mr. Pratt, enslaved Africans were forced to work for centuries without payment, generating wealth that contributed to the development of Western economies.

He questioned the advice often given to African countries to follow the same path taken by Western nations as a means of overcoming poverty and achieving economic prosperity.

“Today, we are constantly being told that the path to our development, the path out of our poverty and so on, is the path of capitalism; that we should become like Britain,” he stated.

Mr. Pratt further asked how Africa could realistically reproduce the conditions under which Western economies accumulated wealth.

“How can we become like Germany, Britain, the United States of America, and so on? How did they develop?” he asked.

He explained that those countries benefited from the exploitation of African people and resources, making their historical development experience fundamentally different from Africa’s current circumstances.

“They developed by capturing us as beasts of burden, by making us work for centuries without pay, by stealing our resources and so on,” he said.

The SMG General Secretary therefore questioned what resources or labour Africans would exploit if they attempted to reproduce the Western model.

“If we want to copy the British model, if we want to copy the American model, and so on, who are we going to capture as slaves to work for us for hundreds of years without pay?” he asked.

He argued that the Western model of development is therefore not a realistic option for Africa and urged Africans to recognise the need to chart an independent path.

“That option is not available to the African people. The British option—the British model of development is not available to the African people,” Mr. Pratt said.

He maintained that Africa’s resources must instead be controlled and developed in the interest of Africans.

“The only option open to the African people is the struggle to seize our resources and exploit these resources in our own interest and for our benefit,” he stated.

Mr. Pratt identified collective self-reliance as another critical pathway for Africa, arguing that stronger cooperation among African countries would improve the continent’s ability to address its economic challenges.

He also called for a renewed commitment to the Pan-African ideals associated with leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, Sékou Touré, and Modibo Keïta.

According to him, Africa needs stronger continental institutions and greater political and economic integration to protect its interests and maximise its resources.

He advocated for a united Africa with structures such as one army and one central bank, arguing that a continent acting collectively would be stronger and better positioned to determine its own future.

Mr. Pratt urged young Africans participating in the International Youth Forum to take an active role in advancing the continent’s struggle for economic independence, self-reliance, and unity.

He stressed that Africa’s development must be based on the continent’s own resources and collective interests rather than continued dependence on models created under different historical circumstances.