Ghana has drafted a proposal to bring reparations for slavery and colonialism into the financing frameworks of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, seeking additional development resources for economies affected by historical exploitation.
The initiative marks a new phase in Africa’s campaign for reparatory justice, shifting the debate beyond apologies and historical accountability towards financial mechanisms that could address inequalities rooted in centuries of slavery and colonial rule.
Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Ghana’s Presidential Special Envoy for Reparations, disclosed the proposal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings held in Bangkok, Thailand.
The document has been circulated within Ghana’s government but has yet to be formally presented to either institution, leaving its prospects dependent on diplomatic negotiations and support from major shareholder countries.
“The reparational agenda has not yet entered formally into this development financial institutional area, but I’m preparing for that necessity and possibility,” Spio-Garbrah said.
He described reparatory finance as an emerging concept that had not yet been introduced to the two institutions, signalling Ghana’s intention to broaden the international debate over how historical injustices should be addressed through development financing.
“The paper is intended for a global audience, so, until we introduce it, it remains there,” he said.
Spio-Garbrah, a former staff member of the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation, said the draft had been presented to the presidency, the ministries of finance and foreign affairs, and the Bank of Ghana to help build a coordinated national position.
The proposal raises questions about how reparations could fit into the mandates of institutions established to address contemporary economic challenges. The IMF primarily provides balance-of-payments support and promotes macroeconomic stability, while the World Bank finances longer-term development.
Any new financing mechanism would therefore require agreement on its structure, funding sources and eligibility criteria, as well as potentially significant institutional changes. Ghana has not disclosed whether reparatory finance would involve grants, concessional loans, debt cancellation or a dedicated funding facility.
The proposal comes as African and Caribbean governments intensify efforts to turn longstanding demands for reparations into practical economic commitments. In June, the African Union and the Caribbean Community’s reparations commission endorsed a 19-point reparations framework at a three-day conference in Accra, calling for formal apologies, financial compensation, debt relief and reforms to international financial institutions.
The framework also backed a Global Reparations Fund to support countries and communities affected by slavery and colonial exploitation. It forms part of a wider African Union campaign to establish reparatory justice as an international development and policy priority.
Spio-Garbrah said Ghana was advocating legislation to establish national reparations councils across the AU’s 55 member states, providing institutional structures to coordinate the continent’s demands.
He cited Germany’s proposed €1.1bn reconstruction and development programme for Namibia, following its acknowledgement of the genocide committed against the Herero and Nama peoples under colonial rule, as an example of efforts to address historical atrocities.
The programme, set out in a 2021 joint declaration and intended to run over 30 years, has faced objections from affected communities, who reject Germany’s position that the funds are development support rather than reparations. The declaration has yet to be finalised, although Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said in April that the matter was set to be concluded before the end of 2026.
The Netherlands has separately earmarked €200mn for programmes addressing its slavery legacy, including education, research, remembrance and community initiatives across the Dutch kingdom and Suriname. The funding is not a scheme for direct individual compensation.
Ghana’s latest initiative follows a diplomatic breakthrough in March, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution spearheaded by President John Dramani Mahama declaring the trafficking and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans the gravest crime against humanity.
Resolution 80/250 secured 123 votes in favour, with the United States, Israel and Argentina opposing it. Another 52 countries abstained, including Britain and several European nations.
Although the resolution strengthened the diplomatic foundation for reparatory justice, it is not legally binding and does not establish an enforceable mechanism requiring countries to pay compensation.
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