PANAFEST must contribute to Africa’s development

Since 1992, PANAFEST has been held in Ghana every two years for Africans and people of African descent, with the aim of promoting and enhancing unity, encouraging and strengthening the bonds of solidarity among all indigenous and Diasporan ethnic groups of African descent, as well as developing the continent of Africa itself.

This year, the event is being celebrated on the theme: “Uniting the African family”, with the sub-theme: “Beyond 400 years: Reaching across the continents into the future”.

This year’s event is unique because it coincides with ‘The Year of Return’ which commemorates the landing of the first enslaved Africans in the English colonies of North America. This year, therefore, gives Ghana an added opportunity to entrench its leadership role in Pan-Africanism and lead Africans and people of African descent to continue the fight against discrimination of all forms around the world.

Indeed, it is an understatement to say that the trans-Atlantic slave trade was the most inhumane practice to have happened to man, perpetrated by fellow human beings. Whereas the slaves were sold cheaply to work on coffee, tobacco, cocoa, sugar and cotton plantations, in gold and silver mines and in the construction industry, slavery succeeded in denying the continent of Africa the men who would have ensured the accelerated development of Africa.

Arguably, the underdevelopment of Africa has been blamed on the slave trade that took away people who would have helped the continent to develop socially and financially.

As PANAFEST kicks off, the Daily Graphic solidly backs the declaration by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that the slave trade was such a barbaric episode that it must never be allowed to occur again in any form.

The celebration, therefore, should not just be an occasion for Diasporans and people of African descent to visit interesting places but must also give Africans the opportunity to say to one another that never again should African people go through such inhumane treatment.

As part of PANAFEST, Emancipation Day will also be commemorated. It is the day that marks the significant day of August 1, 1834 when slavery and the slave trade were formally abolished in most of the British Empire.

The Daily Graphic thinks that alongside the healing processes that Emancipation Day and PANAFEST generally provide, they must remind Africans and people of African descent about the strength and resilience of African culture that made it possible for slaves to still maintain their identity, in spite of all the odds.

The occasion must also be used to showcase the achievements of Africans for them to recognise their worth. We must also use the celebration to effectively reconnect the continent with these achievements and strengths, which will inspire us to be vigilant and rededicate ourselves to assume responsibility for our destiny.

There is also the need to put in initiatives that will make it possible for Africans and people of African descent anywhere around the globe to engage with one another, with the aim of establishing a development path for Africans and the continent of Africa.

It is obvious that the slave trade has done enough damage to generations of Africans through brain drain, marginalisation, unbridled exploitation of Africa’s natural resources and the slowness of African unification.

But we believe African initiatives to establish transnational businesses, add value to community initiatives, take advantage of technologies and mobilise the strength of Africans around the globe can do the trick in redirecting Africa and Africans to retake their rightful place in global affairs. This is what we wish PANAFEST to achieve.