Yuliya Novitskaya, October 02, 2026
For “New Eastern Outlook”, this interview is not merely a political conversation, but a sign of special trust. It is a great honour for us to present to our readers a dialogue with a leader whose influence extends far beyond the borders of his country. We discussed topics that shape the global agenda: unity, historical justice, reparations, and the consolidation of the countries of the Global South.
— Kwame Nkrumah once said ‘it is clear that we must find an African solution to our problems, and that this can only be found in African unity. Divided we are weak; united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good in the world.’ How relevant is the theme of African unity today, and what needs to be done to achieve it?
I am full of hope that the Russia-Africa summit will be a platform for advancing our common interest and aspirations
— The unity of the peoples of Africa is rooted in our history and in the urgent need to overcome the continuing negative impact of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (which forcibly displaced approximately 12.5 million Africans between the 16th and 19th centuries), colonialism and neo-colonialism. The time has come for us to make a major contribution to the resetting of the world, and this cannot be done in disunity. One of the important questions of our time is why we suffer underdevelopment, when we have 65% of the world’s arable land and all the minerals needed to produce electric power, transform agriculture, drive an industrial revolution, and ensure that no African child goes to bed on an empty stomach? The answer is very simple; we sit on these resources, but they practically belong to the giant multinational corporations in the western metropolis, and they are not exploited for the benefit of our people. International organisations, such as the UN and its agencies, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation, have been deliberately constructed in a manner that ignores the needs and interests of the African people. Our reset agenda must necessarily involve the reconstruction of these organisations, and to do that effectively, we ought to unite. It is time to revisit the ideas captured by the 5th Pan-African Congress, held in Manchester in October 1945. Our forebears, who led the call for African unity, like Kwame Nkrumah, Modiba Keita, Patrice Lumumba and Amilcar Cabral, have become more relevant today than ever.
— You are the champion of the African Union on the issues of reparations. At your initiative, the current decade until 2036 has been declared the Decade of Reparations. You also presented a resolution at the UN recognizing slavery as a grave crime against humanity. In your opinion, how can reparations help the development of the African continent?
— The movement for reparations has reached a very important and critical point today. At the 7th AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in July 2025, African leaders declared 2025 as the Year of Reparations and endorsed the period 2026–2036 as the Decade of Reparations—the first time the continent, at the highest political level, placed reparations at the centre of its agenda. The call for reparations is a call for justice for all the crimes which were committed against the African people. It is a struggle against racism. It is the collective effort of the African people wherever they may be to end centuries of exploitation of their labour and resources, which led to the accumulation of vast surpluses on which the capitalist states were constructed. Reparation is also about the radical review of our educational systems to make them responsive to our needs and to affirm the equality of all peoples irrespective of their skin colour and geographical location. We also demand the return of our stolen artefacts, cultural symbols and the remains of our heroes and sheroes. One of our demands is also for compensation for the gross damage which has been done to us, and that may involve the cancellation of odious debts. I have no doubt that we will achieve our objectives because we are firmly united across the African world and we will never give up.
—Today the role of the Global South in the world is growing significantly. Please tell us about the importance of the continent’s interaction with the African diaspora.
— South-South cooperation was put forward as a strategy for advancing the interest of the Global South by such great leaders as Fidel Castro, Nkrumah, Tito and Sukarno. It is still relevant in a world where power blocs have emerged and are pursuing a wide variety of agendas. The Global South needs to assert itself and to ensure that a rules-based global order is maintained. The African diaspora, which makes up more than 170 million people and recognized by the African Union as Africa’s “sixth region”—is everywhere in the world. It has huge financial power and significant political influence. We need to harness all that we can mobilize from our diaspora in our battle against under development in all its forms. The diaspora is an inseparable part of Africa and we ought to respect that.
— Let us recall one of your statements. You said. “I remain a socialist. I am a left-of-centre politician. I believe that in Africa, if you see poverty all around you, you cannot afford to be anything else”. Your successes as the leader of Ghana are undeniable; you have managed to overcome many problems left by the previous administration. But in two years there will be new elections. What do you see as the main advantage of the left-of-center view over other positions?
— Our politics has been about solving the concrete problems which confront our people and even though labels serve as a sign post we want to pay attention to the concrete issues. Within two years we have brought inflation down from 22.9% in 2024 to as low as 3.3% in February 2026—the lowest since August 1999. We have stabilized the national currency and reduced Ghana’s debt stock by GH¢82.1 billion, bringing the debt-to-GDP ratio from 61.8% to 45.3%.
National infrastructure is receiving significant improvement with the “Big Push” projects. We have improved our relations with the Sahel States and we are leading the struggles for reparative justice for all African peoples. We believe firmly that our record of achievement will guide the people of Ghana in making choices in the 2028 election. I am fully convinced that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will be given the nod again.
— We are speaking with you on the eve of the Russia-Africa summit. How do you assess this format and Russia’s position on the continent? How do you see Ghana’s role in this cooperation?
— The third Russia-Africa Summit, scheduled for October 28–29, 2026 in Moscow, is a significant opportunity for our continent. Russia has always been a reliable partner in Africa. She supported the national liberation struggles of the African people and played a key role in the defeat of apartheid in South Africa. After independence, the Soviet Union provided generous educational scholarships to young Africans—by 1991, over 50,000 African students were studying in the USSR, and throughout the history of cooperation, over 310,000 qualified specialists from the continent have been trained in Russia. This helped the newly independent states in their national reconstruction efforts. Today, Russia has declared her full support for the struggle for reparative justice. I am full of hope that the Russia-Africa summit will be a platform for advancing our common interest and aspirations.
— Mr President, we would like to thank you most sincerely for such an interesting and insightful interview. We wish the people of Ghana peace, stability and prosperity, and the country itself further development and new successes!