Accra: Ghana's heavy reliance on imports is rooted in the long-term impact of slavery and colonialism, according to Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Presidential Special Envoy for Reparations. Spio-Garbrah argues that these historical factors have deliberately undermined Africa's ability to industrialize. In an interview on State Of Affairs on GHOne TV, he highlighted the destruction of Ghana's industrial capacity, saying, "When we say that Ghana is too dependent on imports, it's because they destroyed our capacity to be an industrialized country."
According to Ghana Web, Spio-Garbrah explained that the transatlantic slave trade significantly weakened the continent by removing its most productive population. He noted, "Remember that the strongest and the ablest people that the slaves trader found were the ones that they wanted." The former Trade Minister emphasized that the effects extended beyond population loss, shaping a global economic system that has persisted for centuries. He stated, "Even though we talk about 12 to 15 million Africans having been enslaved after they were taken to the western world or in some cases even to other parts of the world, they have lived 200, 300 years under very strenuous and very painful conditions as slaves."
Spio-Garbrah also pointed out that Africa's current economic dependence is reinforced by the export of raw materials and the import of finished goods. He remarked, "They transported raw materials to Europe. transformed them into finished commodities and brought them back." Furthermore, he argued that colonial influence extended into educational systems, which were designed to produce consumers rather than manufacturers. "Just create an elite who will be consumers of industrial products manufactured from the West," he said.
He questioned why academic excellence in Ghana has not translated into industrial production, using the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology as an example. "We've had a brilliant university with great students coming out but somehow nobody has manufactured a bicycle from the faculty of engineering," he added.